Sleepless Nights
by Jazzkintz
Summary: Multiple chapter Callie/Arizona fiction showcasing the everyday lives of the couple and their surgical friends. Expect drama, intrigue, romance, suspense, angst, lust and love. No beta, all mistakes are mine. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!
1. Chapter 1

**SLEEPLESS NIGHTS!!!**

Author: jazzkintz

Rating: NC-17 (for later entries)

Pairing: Callie/Arizona

Disclaimer: I own nothing. No profits here. All characters belong to Shonda Rhimes

Summary: I've began writing what I think is going on in the lives of the characters when we don't see them on the screen. I am trying my best to keep up with what is happening in the show as I write. No beta, all mistakes are mine. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!!!

**CHAPTER 1**

Sleepless nights seem to be a staple attribute in the lives of gifted surgeons, especially those who care deeply and unconditionally about their patients. Arizona Robbins is one such surgeon. As she lay there staring at the ceiling waiting for slumber to overtake her body, she replays over and over again the surgeries of the previous day. She thinks about the baby girl she was forced to deliver at 30 weeks due to a teratoma on her neck, this was by far the smallest baby she had operated on in a long time.

Mark Sloan had insisted on scrubbing in with her, Arizona found this completely unnecessary but conceded when remembering that Mark is not only a plastic surgeon but an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon. It couldn't hurt to have another experienced surgeon assisting her, and Mark turned out to be very useful during this procedure. For such a big guy he really does have a steady, delicate touch. She knows this because Mark has been shadowing her for the past week and a half, scrubbing in on her surgeries, helping her with a particularly difficult diagnosis and just generally loitering around in her vicinity. Come to think of it she can't recall a case in the past few days that Mark hadn't been in some way involved in and she wondered what was up with him. As she lay there contemplating all the possibilities of why Mark Sloan was surgery stalking her she hears Callie's voice break her thoughts.

"Sleep!" she hears the gorgeous brunette cry out to her. Arizona looks over at her girlfriend who is sprawled out messily on her stomach facing the wall, she had recently had to get used to sleeping next to someone who takes up the entire bed, someone who hogs the covers and intermittently talks in their sleep. She thought about ignoring Callie's outburst, not wanting to get into another sleep taking conversation that would confuse Arizona and of course that Callie would not remember in the morning, but instead she answered softly.

"Did you say something?" Arizona whispered placing her hand lightly on Callie's back, hoping to get no answer so she could go back to her contemplating.

"Yes. Go to sleep Arizona" Callie spat out, remaining in the same position.

"How did you know I was awake?" Arizona questioned with a smirk on her face, still not one hundred percent certain that Callie wasn't talking in her sleep.

Callie abruptly rolls over onto her back and looks right at Arizona. She was definitely not sleep talking. "I can here you thinking. The whole of Seattle can hear to thinking" Callie shoves a pillow over her own head as if to drown out the sound of her girlfriend's ticking brain and Arizona begins to giggle.

"It's not funny Arizona. You're driving me crazy" Callie says as she throws the pillow that was covering her head at Arizona. She shoots her girlfriend a stern look but can't keep a straight face when she sees the stunning blonde giggling softly and holding her sides as if to keep herself from exploding. Callie begins to giggle too and the more they look at each other the more they giggle until they can't hold it in and their giggles become hearty laughs.

Suddenly they hear a loud "BANG! BANG!" on the wall behind them and then a very cranky Cristina yell at them "SHUT UP YOU FREAKS!" Callie and Arizona snuggle up to each other and try to suppress their laughing until they hear a loud thud followed by a man's throaty laugh. Cristina had fallen over something lying on her bedroom floor whilst on her way to the bathroom and the man's voice they heard was Owen Hunt. Both Arizona and Callie burst into fits of laughter once more until they are startled into silence by the sound of their bedroom door being swung open. They both jump up and notice a dishevelled Cristina standing in the doorway rubbing her shin.

"You're going to pay for this. You hear me Torres?" Cristina screeches as Arizona nudges Callie and laughs. Cristina points an angry finger at Arizona.

"You too Roller Girl" are the last words Cristina shouts at them before leaving the room and slamming the door behind her. They stare at the door in shock for a moment before looking at each other and collapsing back onto the bed laughing once more. As the laughing subsides Arizona snuggles up to her lover who is now lying on her back leaving room for Arizona's body to meld into her own and she notices Callie's breathing deepen and her body become relaxed as she drifts off to sleep. Arizona realizes in this moment that now that she was used to all of the eccentricities of Callie's sleeping patterns, she found it hard to sleep without her there and with this thought she drifts off to sleep easily.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

It was a fresh Tuesday morning when Arizona Robbins groggily opened her eyes, she felt good because she had finally fallen asleep at around 2am after a good half hour of giggling with her girlfriend Callie. They had managed to piss off Callie's roommate Cristina with their laughing, but pissing of Cristina wasn't exactly hard so she wasn't worried. She stretched her body out lazily and realized that the bed was empty and it felt cold, suggesting that her girlfriend had been up for some time. Arizona lay there for a few moments listening for movements in the apartment, for a sign that Callie was pottering around the house, she couldn't remember if Callie had work early this morning or not. She wasn't even aware of what the time was, as she glanced at the clock on the nightstand it read 4.02am and for a split second she was confused until she remembered that the clock was broken.

She smiled to herself as she remembered how the clock had been broken.

_The alarm had gone off three nights in a row at 4.02am causing both Callie and Arizona to panic and scramble around trying to shut it off. They went to work grumpy three days in a row; Arizona even lost her temper with one of the scrub nurses during a surgery and Callie had been unbearable during lunch hour, she even offended Mark at one point. The fourth night however had been the straw that broke the camel's back, Arizona had been sleeping peacefully until she rolled toward her girlfriend and realised that she was sitting up legs dangling off the bed. Arizona slowly sat up too, trying not to frighten Callie in case she was having another one of her sleep talking episodes but she wasn't speaking she was just staring intensely at the nightstand._

"_Cal? Are you okay?" Arizona spoke softly as she sat up behind her girlfriend pulling herself in close so that she was able to wrap her right arm around Callie's waist while holding herself up with her left and resting her head on Callie's shoulder. _

"_Shh… wait for it" Callie said as she lifted her left hand to swat Arizona's face gently. Arizona looked around the room in anticipation but nothing was happening. Her eyes finally adjusting to the darkness noticed that Callie was staring at the clock on the nightstand, it read 4.01am. Suddenly it became clear to her what was going on and sure enough the clock hit 4.02am and the alarm began screeching, she could have sworn that it was even getting louder each day. Arizona threw herself back onto the bed and hid under the blankets as if they were going to drown out what she had come to think of as the most annoying noise in the world. Callie however calmly stood up and reached for something on the dresser and before she knew what was happening she heard loud smashing noises and she swiftly removed the covers to see Callie attacking the clock with what looked like a rolling pin. After a few hits the clock stopped screeching and Callie casually replaced the rolling pin on the dresser and climbed back into bed without saying a word._

"_Feel better?" Arizona asked trying to stifle her laughter with her hand._

"_Much" Callie replied rolling over and relaxing into her pillow, soon she was fast asleep. _

Arizona had found it quite humorous when Callie had gone postal on the alarm clock but she had found it absolutely hilarious when Owen had told her that it was Cristina who had been setting the alarm to go off at 4.02am every morning. She hadn't dared to tell Callie as she thought it best to save Cristina from suffering the same fate as the alarm clock. Owen had shared this information with her during one of their morning jogs, something that was becoming somewhat of a ritual for them.

Arizona began dressing for the day and as she checked her phone she realised it was only 6.30am which meant that Callie must have been called into the hospital and she just hadn't heard her leave because there could be no other explanation as to why Callie would be awake at 6.30 in the morning. She threw on her sweats and entered the living area to find Owen in his jogging gear stretching. She found it fascinating that Owen did the same stretches every morning, exactly the same without fail. He enjoys routine and discipline, he's not afraid of hard work. In a way Owen Hunt sort of reminded Arizona of her brother.

"You ready Robbins?" Owen looked up at her from one of his stretched with a mischievous grin.

"To kick your ass? Oh yeah, I'm ready" Arizona retorted, flashing him an equally mischievous grin as she began jogging past him and out the front door. Owen abruptly finishes his stretches and runs after her.

"Not today Robbins. Today your ass is mine!" he yells at her as he closes the door behind him.

Later, at the hospital whilst doing her rounds with Dr. Percy and Dr. Karev Arizona feels a tightening in her legs, they feel heavy and stiff from her running effort this morning and thinks she may have pushed herself just a little too hard. Just as she was finishing her rounds, she had sent Percy off to collect some scans and she was about to head to surgery when she heard the unmistakeable voice of Mark Sloan.

"Hey Blondie, you got time for coffee?" He said as he flashed his best McSteamy smile, this didn't have the same effect on Arizona as it did with the rest of the women in the hospital. She did however like Mark, usually, when he wasn't being all weird and stalking her around the hospital. She generally enjoyed their competitive banter even when she was the butt of one of his jokes. But all this niceness and considerate surgery talk was beginning to unnerve her.

"Uh I have a surgery in 5 minutes" Arizona tried to avoid his gaze because he was making her a little uncomfortable. She had to remind herself to confront him about his strange behaviour later, when she had the time.

"Maybe drinks at Joes after work? My shift ends and 9" Arizona suggested finally meeting his gaze but instead of a creepy stare she found a look of relief and this confused her even more.

"I get off at 7 so I'll meet you there" and with that he flashed one last trademark smile and sauntered off down the corridor. Arizona frowned as she watched him leave. He's an extremely strange guy but he is also her girlfriend's best friend so she is committed to making an effort with Mark.

Her thoughts about how to confront Mark tonight were interrupted by a hand around her waist and a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Hey you" she heard Callie whisper into her ear as she turned her head to place a soft kiss on her girlfriend's lips.

"Hey yourself. Where did you get to this morning?" Arizona asked as she turned around keeping as close to Callie's body as she could and batting her eyelashes causing Callie to break into one of her famous grins, Arizona couldn't resist it when Callie smiled at her like that it made her heart sing.

"I got called in a little early. Car accident. 15 broken bones. Pretty crazy, I just came out of surgery now. Oh and I heard you're having drinks with Mark tonight" Callie grinned as she said this.

"Yeah. Why are you smiling like that?" Arizona questioned her girlfriend suspiciously.

"You know you don't have to hang out with Mark don't you?" Callie began to laugh.

"Yeah I know. But I like Mark and I'm not doing anything tonight so I thought why not, right?" Arizona was trying her best to hide her trepidation about the whole situation but by the look on Callie's face she wasn't buying it.

"Okay then. Just tell him to get lost if he gets too… Mark for you okay?" Callie said trying to reassure Arizona that playing with Mark wasn't part of her girlfriend duties and that she could leave the playground at anytime and Callie wouldn't be upset.

"Oh baby I can handle a little Mark" and with this statement she kissed Callie on the lips again and held it for a few seconds longer than their usual goodbye kiss, but just before Callie was about to turn the kiss into something more heated Arizona pulled away flashed her dimples and went bounding down the corridor leaving Callie staring off after her in a daze.

Arizona loved staying at Callie's apartment, it was close to the hospital and it felt homey but most of all it had occupants, lots of occupants. Arizona grew up with one brother and one sister but her house was always filled with kids from the neighbourhood or her many, many cousins and since she'd left home and moved away she had mostly lived alone.

Arizona never had a roommate in college, somehow she seemed to be one of the very few people to get a single room so when she finished college and started med school she was relieved to find herself sharing an apartment with her brother and sister for a short period of time before Danny joined the military, Brooke went off to med school and Arizona moved to Seattle. Callie's apartment is crazy, people coming in and out at all times of the day and night; nobody seems worried about anybody else's privacy. All of this reminded her of the days when Brooke would barge in on her in the shower insisting Arizona get out or she would jump in with her, something Arizona took as a simple threat until the day Brooke did in fact stay true to her word. She couldn't count how many times Danny would make her sit and watch horror movies with him or how many items of clothing Brooke took from her closet without asking and never returned.

All of these things were just stuff that Arizona would complain about until the day they weren't around to steal her clothes or scare her silly with horror movies or random practical jokes and then she missed it, but more than that she missed waking up to a breakfast that Brooke had cooked or when Danny would read poetry to them late at night like their father used to when they were kids or when Brooke would crawl into bed with her in the middle of the night to talk because she knew Arizona couldn't sleep. She took all of these little insignificant things for granted when they lived together as adults during that brief period and now Danny was dead and Brooke was in Boston completing her third year of residency. So being at Callie's with grumpy, inappropriate Cristina and kind, serious Owen as well as having no-boundary neighbours like Mark and Lexie really made Arizona feel at home.

When Arizona arrived at Callie's apartment that night she knew Callie wasn't going to be there because she was still at the hospital but she wanted to wait for her. She saw that the light was on and thought that Callie must have left it on for her, however when she opened the door she found the entire apartment draped in plastic. She stared around in shock; it looked like a murder scene in there. Cristina came out of the bedroom entirely suited up for a surgery.

"Ummm… Cristina?" Arizona said softly as if speaking too loudly would cause Cristina to crack.

"Yeah" Cristina answered nonchalantly.

"What are you doing?" Arizona questioned her whilst stepping fully into the apartment, closing the door gently and placing her bag and keys on the stand near the couch which had been pushed right up against the wall to make room for the make shift surgical table Cristina had placed in the middle of the room.

"I am going to be doing a stent procedure, an Angioplasty and a Bypass Surgery" Cristina casually announces to Arizona as she fumbles around in the fridge.

"Right here, in the living room?" Arizona is befuddled by Cristina's behaviour yet intrigued.

"Yes" Cristina answers as she enters the living room carrying a sheep's heart and what looks like arteries and veins from another form of animal.

"Can I ask why you're performing heart surgeries on animal organs in the living room?" Arizona is now trying not to laugh at Cristina who is taking this all very seriously.

"Because! Because Owen has organised for this Cardio-God to come to the hospital and I need to impress this Cardio-God so that I can get on their rotation and be a real surgeon again. But I haven't touched a heart in months, I've barely seen the inside of the OR in the past two weeks and I'm rusty and I cannot be rusty for the Cardio-God. I am Cristina Yang and I will not be rusty for the Cardio-God. Because I am Cristina Yang and I am a surgeon, I hold hearts in my hands and I fix them. I am Cristina Yang! Do you understand?" whilst she was ranting Arizona saw the human side to Cristina. Someone who was scared and irrational, she also saw a determination in Cristina's eyes that inspired her.

"You're Cristina Yang" Arizona said nodding her head calmly letting Cristina know that she understood and wasn't judging her. Cristina seemed to relax at hearing these words and began setting the heart up for the surgery. Arizona watched her for a moment in awe.

"Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to make yourself useful and scrub in?" Cristina announced across the room without looking up from her instruments.

**CALLIE**

It had been an immensely long day and Callie was just about finished her shift. She couldn't wait to get home, shower and crawl into her bed where she knew Arizona would be waiting for her, and this thought made her rush through the last of her paperwork but as she was changing out of her scrubs she remembered that Arizona was having drinks with Mark tonight and her heart sank. Now, instead of going home and snuggling up with her girlfriend she was going to have to go to Joes and be social. On the upside Arizona was always a little handsy with her after a few drinks, something Callie could definitely be okay with tonight, who was she kidding she was always okay with it. And with that thought she began to rush again, she threw on her clothes and headed out of the locker room, she began to pick up the pace as she rushed down the hallway then she heard someone scream her name.

"Hey Torres!" She turned around to see Mark Sloan jogging to catch up with her.

"Where's the fire?" he said as he caught up with her.

"What are you… Aren't you supposed to be having drinks with Arizona?" Callie said looking at Mark with confusion. Maybe Arizona had changed her mind and cancelled with Mark after she had spoken with her this afternoon.

"Yeah we were but I got called back in around 8. House fire, nasty burns. But I'm finished now if you wanna go by Joes?" Mark said as they both continued out of the hospital.

"I think I'll pass. This has been the longest day ever. I just want to go home and sleep for the rest of the year" Callie said as she yawned for emphasis. As they were exiting the building Callie took a last look backwards and saw Owen entering the attending locker room. She called out to him.

"Hey Hunt, you want us to wait for you?" Hunt stopped and waved Callie and Mark on.

"I'll see you up there" and with that he entered the locker room.

Mark and Callie walked home to their apartment building and rode up the lift together chatting about their surgeries that day. When they reached their floor they heard Lexie's voice coming from inside Callie's apartment and then they heard two other voices.

"Well done Dr. Grey, nice work" they heard Arizona announce cheerily and they looked at each other with confusion and pressed themselves closer to the door so they could hear what was going on inside.

"Okay I'm about to perform the running whipstitch" Cristina sounded very professional.

"Are they playing doctor?" Mark tried to hold back his laughter. Callie gave him a bewildered shrug and a look of glee came over his face.

"Oh please tell me they're playing doctor" he said as he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Shut up!" Callie said sternly as she elbowed him in the ribs.

"We'll just go in okay" Callie put her key in the lock and opened the door. There stood Arizona, Lexie and Cristina. All three of them were suited up for surgery: caps, gloves, booties and all. They immediately stopped what they were doing when they heard the door open and stood frozen staring at Callie and Mark. The three of them looked extremely guilty, were covered in blood and chunks of something Callie was sure she didn't want to know. None of them spoke; they just stood there in silence.

"Have the three of you gone mad?" Mark finally broke the silence. This statement didn't sit well with the three women and they began scowling at him, no longer looking guilty or embarrassed.

"No Mark we haven't gone mad, Dr. Grey had a question earlier and I thought I would give a demonstration. Dr. Yang offered to assist" Arizona managed to get that sentence out with a straight face.

"That's the kind of doctor she is. Dr. Robbins is a great teacher" Lexie stammered. Callie and Mark didn't seem convinced and eyed them suspiciously. Callie knew something wasn't right about this set up. She also knew that there was no way that this was Arizona's idea, if Arizona had wanted to teach Lexie she could do it at the hospital on real patients or teaching cadavers but why would Lexie be asking Arizona how to perform what looked like complicated heart surgeries judging by the two hearts sitting on the bench, not that Arizona wouldn't be able to perform these procedures but it just seemed weird that Lexie would care as far as Callie knew Lexie had no interest in Cardio. No, this had Cristina Yang written all over it.

"Fine! I was practicing my heart surgeries for my meeting with the Cardio-God tomorrow okay? Robbins walked in and offered to help" Cristina stated matter-of-factly.

"I don't know that I offered but my services were definitely utilised" Arizona said throwing Callie a sweet smile.

"And I came by to borrow a CD but I couldn't miss this. I mean I learnt how to do an Angioplasty, it was amazing" Lexie stood there beaming at them.

"You can't speak a word of this to Owen you hear me?" Cristina pointed a finger at Mark and Callie. They both began smiling as they remembered who was leaving the hospital shortly after them.

"Well you might want to get rid of the evidence because he wasn't far behind us when we left" Callie stated as Mark stood there leaning up against the wall laughing as Cristina, Arizona and Lexie began scrambling around the room trying to clean up their mess. Callie was quite amused by how panicked all three of them seemed to be, she was even more amused when she realised that Arizona was scowling at her and Mark.

"You two aren't going to just stand there are you?" Arizona asked sternly whilst her and Lexie began rolling up the plastic covering the area.

"And miss watching all the fun unfold? I don't think so" Mark said casually as he continued to lean himself up against the wall. Callie just grinned dopily at the scene unfolding before her eyes until she found herself being reprimanded.

"Calliope Torres!" as soon as Callie heard her full name being used at that decibel she knew she was in trouble. She was also aware that Lexie was shooting Mark a dirty look and she couldn't help but notice her Lexie's eyes dart towards Arizona and back on to Mark, almost piercing his skin. Mark stiffened and also gave Arizona a quick glance before reluctantly helping clean up. Callie found this extremely odd, what was going on between Mark, Lexie and Arizona that she didn't know about? Had she missed something once again? Had she not been listening when Arizona had told her about this? She knew that she had a tendency to do that sometimes, that was becoming a slight problem in their relationship but it was one she was desperately trying to fix. She couldn't ask Arizona about it in case she'd already been told and she didn't want to alert Arizona to the fact she'd missed something again. So she'd have to ask Mark, but he was generally a pretty good secret keeper, if in fact this was a secret so she thought her best bet would be Lexie. She knew Lexie couldn't keep a secret to save her life so she'd start there.

The five of them spent the next ten minutes cleaning up the mess in the living room, putting furniture back where it belonged and all just in time to hear Owen's key in the door. Callie and Mark seated themselves down on the lounge, Mark switched on the TV just as he did Callie looked at the Arizona, Lexie and Cristina and noticed that they were still wearing their scrubs and that they had blood a guts all over them.

"Urgh guys you might wanna…" Callie pointed to their outfits and the three of them in a panic rushed to the bathroom and closed the door behind them. Callie and Mark were left in the living room watching TV when Owen entered the apartment.

"Hey guys, where is everyone?" Owen asked whilst setting himself down on the couch next to Callie. Mark pointed to the bathroom door without saying a word. Callie was suddenly nervous that Owen was going to get suspicious; she didn't know why considering she thought it was stupid that they were hiding it from Owen anyway.

"All of them?" Owen asked incredulously.

"Women" Mark shrugged and Owen shook his head and shrugged it off too. Callie was amazed that men could explain away something with one word sentences and that other men didn't question it. If Owen had been a woman she would have been digging for information right now, Arizona would never let it drop until you spilt the beans it was always just easier to come out with it than to be badgered by Arizona, but Owen never gave it another thought as he and Mark made themselves comfortable.

So much for the night Callie had planned in her head when she was leaving the hospital. Who would have thought she'd be sitting here watching TV with Mark and Owen while her girlfriend showered with her roommate and her neighbour. She had resigned herself to the fact that today was just destined to end badly. That was until Arizona appeared out of the bathroom in her towel, her hair all wet and she could smell her shampoo from across the room. Arizona winked at her, shot her a dimpled smile and darted into Callie's bedroom. Suddenly her night wasn't looking so bad after all.

"Night guys" Callie offered the boys as she jumped off the couch and slipped into her room.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Arizona had spent most of her day in surgery, it had been a long and tiresome day and she couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. Tonight is game night. It's supposed to be a fun filled night of games and activities something the attendings had come up with to ease the pain of the merger with Mercy West. But since tonight was only the second night, they weren't sure exactly how all of this was going to play out. Last week had been an utter disaster because only 5 people showed and they ended up just going to Joes. She was however trying to be optimistic about tonight. Although Arizona and Owen had come up with this idea together Owen had taken care of all the preparations for tonight. So all she knew was that she had to be at Seattle sports centre at 8 for the indoor soccer game.

As she was finishing off her paperwork for the day she wondered who would be attending tonight. She knew Callie was going to be there because she was making her, Owen was making Cristina, Lexie and Mark were coming last she heard. She had suggested that Alex Karev come down, she had even given him the night off as he was on her rotation this week so hopefully he showed up. She had no idea which of the Mercy West people were coming if any at all but she really hoped to put all of this competing rubbish to rest. Arizona had decided that she was not going to have anyone on her service that didn't play well with others; she couldn't afford to have her residents fighting with one another and miss something critical, that's how kids die. She also didn't want to work with a bunch of children whilst trying to save the lives of other children; she needed to be around sensible adults in order to save lives so she was taking tonight very seriously.

Once she had finished all of her paperwork and headed to the attendings locker room she noticed that it was 7.30 already. Great, she was the one who initiated this whole thing and she was going to be late, now she was stressed and she was starting to feel sick. She hated to fail and she had a nagging feeling that tonight was going to be an epic failure. When she entered the locker room she found Callie waiting for her. Arizona stuck her head in the door without Callie noticing and she watched her for a moment. Callie was wearing black tights and a long jersey, what looked like new runners and she thought she recognised the socks as her own; they were pink with red hearts so she knew they didn't belong to Callie. Her girlfriend had her hair tied up on top of her head and she was wearing a sweat band. Arizona could tell that Callie was really trying to put in some effort for tonight which she really appreciated especially because she knew that Callie was not in the slightest bit interested in soccer or bonding with her colleagues. Arizona found it adorable. Callie turned around and noticed Arizona watching her; she blushed when she saw the look on Arizona's face.

"Hey" Callie said still blushing. Arizona found shy blushing Callie to be very sexy.

"Hey" Arizona replied still standing in the doorway. Sometimes just looking at Callie was enough to render her speechless and immobile. Suddenly she wasn't interested in tonight's festivities. Just as she was thinking she might skip the night entirely and take her girlfriend home for some alone time, Callie walked over to her slowly without breaking eye contact and took her hand. Arizona felt a jolt every time Callie touched her, even when it was a simple touch like taking hold of her hand. Callie led Arizona to her locker silently and motioned for her to sit on the bench seat. Arizona sat down with her back to her locker so that she could face Callie. She wasn't exactly sure where this was leading but she was up for whatever Callie had in mind.

Callie reached down and gently placed her hands around Arizona's waist, her finger tips just above her scrub pants. She let them rest there for a moment staring intensely into Arizona's eyes, all of a sudden Arizona felt like she couldn't breathe and her face went a light shade of pink as Callie's hands began rising up her body bringing her shirt with them. Callie did this in what seemed like slow motion, her hands never breaking contact with Arizona's bare skin. When the shirt reached just below her bra Arizona involuntarily found herself raising her arms allowing Callie to remove her scrub top completely from her slim figure. Every movement Callie made she seemed to do it with an intensity that both scared and excited Arizona, it was a passion she had never really seen from Callie before. She thought that perhaps it was because she had told Callie that she loved her last week, something she hadn't really planned on doing but she just couldn't help herself.

_She walked into Callie's apartment after one of the worst days she'd had in a really long time and found her gorgeous girlfriend sleeping soundly on the couch, she knew Callie had been sitting up waiting for her and that made her heart leap. She looked around the room and saw all the effort that Callie had put into celebrating her birthday and although it had been a complete disaster she truly was very appreciative. When Callie opened her eyes Arizona's heart swelled with emotion, Callie looked at her with a vulnerability and nervousness that made Arizona smile. When Callie began rambling on about hats and donuts and lingerie Arizona found that moment to be an embodiment of everything that Arizona loved about her and although she had been really mad at her earlier for what she still thought were very legitimate reasons, she just knew she had to tell her how she felt or she would explode._

She was glad that she had told Callie how she felt but she was blissful about that fact that Callie had returned those feelings. Callie was now leaning in to kiss Arizona gently on the lips, breaking her thoughts and bringing her back to the present moment. As she kissed her tenderly she felt Callie reach for something and to Arizona's dismay Callie pulled away from the kiss. Arizona saw that Callie had a shirt in her hands and was now manoeuvring to get Arizona into the shirt. This was not at all where she had thought this little rendezvous was heading but she found it just as exhilarating. She had never felt more loved or cared for than she did in this moment. Arizona allowed Callie to continue to undress her; Callie ridded her of her scrub pants and helped her into her tights all the while making sure to keep physical contact with Arizona's body. Arizona could've sat there letting Callie touch her like that forever but it wasn't an option, they had friends to meet and colleagues to bond with.

When they arrived at the sports centre about 20 minutes later they were surprised to find a large group of their colleagues doing some stretches lead by Owen. Arizona and Callie strolled over to the group hand in hand. They had barely spoken since the locker room; they had spent almost the entire journey to the sports centre in complete silence. It wasn't an awkward silence though; they often liked to just sit in bask in one another's company without the hindrance of having to hold a conversation.

As Owen finished off the group stretching exercises which if Arizona was being honest did really make her feel quite good, he picked two team captains; Cristina because she was oddly enthusiastic about the whole thing and himself, which seemed like an odd choice as he was pinning himself up against his partner but nonetheless they were the captains. Cristina of course insisted on picking first and as she called out her first name it seemed to shock everyone except Owen who had a look of annoyance but he also seemed to have seen this coming.

"I'll take roller girl" Cristina yelled, choosing Arizona was something no one was expecting from Cristina but there wasn't time to sit around and contemplate the reasons.

"Avery" Owen hit back.

"Sloan" Cristina called out smugly and Arizona noticed that Mark seemed a little too relieved to be on the same team as her, it also didn't go unnoticed by Arizona that Lexie was excitedly cheering him on. She couldn't help but think about what an odd couple they were.

"Torres" Owen shot back with the same amount of smugness much to Arizona's upset and surprisingly to Cristina's as well. Not only was there something odd going on with Mark following her around and Lexie cheering him on, Owen and Cristina were also acting weird but since he hadn't said anything to her on their run this morning she dismissed those thoughts as her just being paranoid. The picking of the teams went very quickly, it was as if Cristina and Owen had rehearsed this exact situation.

"Alex" Cristina spat

"Shep" Owen retorted

"Teddy" Owen gave Cristina an evil smile as he called Altman's name. This was becoming more interesting by the second.

"Percy" Cristina announced with a hint of distain in her voice. Arizona could tell that picking one of the 'outsiders' was killing Cristina but her need to win this game was overpowering her need to hate the Mercy Westers.

"We'll take the Chief" Owen winked at Cristina this time and Arizona could tell that Owen was simply trying to rile her up.

"Kiss ass! Bailey you're with us" Cristina motioned Bailey over.

"Lexie" Owen called her over much to Cristina's disappointment; she let out a loud grunt of frustration at being stuck with Meredith on her team. Arizona looked over at Meredith who didn't seem angered or hurt by Cristina's blatant dismissal of her, she simply rolled her eyes at Cristina being Cristina.

Owen and Cristina then went on to give a pep talk to their respective teams. Cristina really wanted to win and Arizona found her enthusiasm infectious. By the time Cristina had gone over what was expected of the team Arizona found herself nodding profusely and even shouting words of encouragement.

The first half of the game went quickly. Percy had been put in goals, Bailey and Meredith as fullbacks, Alex and Mark in midfield with Arizona and Cristina as strikers. Arizona found it very easy to outrun all of the players on the opposite team, the only one who was even close to being as fast as her was Owen, but even he was having trouble keeping up with her. Once she got the ball there was really no stopping her and with the Chief in goals the other team had no chance at all. At the end of the first half it was 7 – 0 in favour of team 'Hardcore' as Cristina had so appropriately named them.

It wasn't that the other team wasn't good, Owen was incredibly skilled and Avery surprisingly looked like he had more practice with this game than he had let on. Teddy was another frontrunner, she was quick but she had no control over the ball when she got to it.

Callie surprised everyone in the second half when she scored a goal from half way. She had a great shot on her and Arizona found it amazingly hot. They played out the entire game with Cristina killing Avery, something that almost looked like it was intentional and Arizona out running everyone. Mark and Alex rarely ever let the ball get passed the mid so Bailey joined them in midfield leaving Meredith to stand around in front of the goals watching. Team 'Hardcore' was definitely kicking ass, by the end of the game it was 14 – 3 and no one was more excited about that victory than Cristina.

Once the game was over the two teams headed to Joes where they continued to heckle each other over a few drinks. As she sat there at the table drinking her vodka soda Arizona couldn't help but smile when she looked around realising that the intention of the night had been fulfilled. Walking away victorious had been a bonus she hadn't expected but one she welcomed whole heartedly. The group sat around drinking and laughing for hours, but if she was being honest with herself Arizona knew that this wasn't going to last much past this night.

When midnight arrived Callie nudged Arizona which was the signal that she wanted to leave. They said their goodbyes and warned Cristina not to wake them when she came home. Arizona thought that was a pointless conversation to have since she was sure Cristina wouldn't take any notice anyway.

Back at Callie's apartment Arizona sighed with relief as they entered Callie's bedroom.

"I've never been so exhausted in my life" Arizona told Callie as she threw herself on the bed and she rolled on her side propping herself up to watch as Callie undressed herself. Arizona felt her temperature rising as Callie stood there in her underwear looking for her pyjamas when she finds them and begins to put them on Arizona feels a sudden urge to stop her.

"Don't" she says softly.

"What?" Callie answers with a smile of confusion.

"Just… not yet" she says as Callie realises what she means and gently drops her clothes on the floor. She looks a little nervous as she stands there wearing nothing but her underwear and Arizona watches as Callie's body reacts to her eyes scanning over it.

"You're beautiful" Arizona finally managed to form words and those were the only ones she could think of. "Come and lay with me" Arizona speaks almost in a whisper and to her absolute delight Callie grants her request as she lies gently down beside her. Arizona instinctively places a hand on Callie's stomach drawing gentle circles around her navel. She feels Callie's whole body shiver and she smiles to herself. Arizona loved the way Callie's body reacted to her touch; to her there was nothing better in the whole world than moments like this one.

"I thought you said you were exhausted?" Callie asked with a raised brow.

"I am. I just want to look at you" Arizona answers moving her body closer to her girlfriend. Callie blushes deeply and links her hand with the hand Arizona is using to stroke her stomach; she then brings both their hands to her face and covers her eyes with the back of Arizona's palm trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Oh my God. You're so weird" Callie laughs, still hiding from Arizona's gaze. Not many people ever got to see this side of Callie because she was generally hardcore kickass ortho-girl. The girly, vulnerable side of Callie was reserved for those closest to her, this side of Callie was what made Arizona fall in love with her.

"Why am I weird? I love your body and I want it to be the last thing I see before I go to sleep. What's wrong with that?" Arizona could feel Callie's face burning up due to extreme embarrassment.

"I don't know. I just… I've always been comfortable in my own skin but I'm not one of those girls with the great bodies that everybody stares at. So it's weird for me" Callie spoke with their hands still covering her face.

"What are you talking about? You're gorgeous!" Arizona couldn't believe what she was hearing; she had never heard anything more ridiculous in her life. She saw people staring at Callie all the time, it was something that she constantly noticed and whilst she often wanted to rip those people's eyeballs out it also made her feel lucky that Callie had chosen to be with her. Arizona found that she herself couldn't keep her eyes off of Callie and she didn't understand how Callie could not be aware of this. Callie was finding it extremely hard to take a compliment tonight and she just groaned and continued covering her face.

"Will you look at me please?" Arizona said seriously and Callie reluctantly let go of Arizona's hand so she could uncover her face. She looked over at Arizona whose face was now only inches away from her own.

"Calliope Torres, you are exquisite and I can't keep my eyes off you" Arizona looked deeply into Callie's beautiful dark mocha coloured eyes as she tried to express how amazing she thought she was but she felt like her words were failing her so she leaned over and kissed the gorgeous brunette softly on the lips. She felt Callie sigh into her mouth as she slowly took Callie's bottom lip between her teeth and pressed down not hard enough for it to hurt but enough to cause the brunette to moan louder, they continued to kiss gently until Callie pulled away, she had a glint in her eye and Arizona knew she was completely turned on.

"It doesn't really seem fair that I'm lying here half naked and you're fully clothed" Callie said suggestively. Without any further insistence Arizona sat up and removed her shirt, throwing it on the floor where Callie's pyjamas were huddled in a pile. She laid herself back down gently and took hold of Callie's hand.

"That better?" she whispered as she kissed Callie's neck.

"Much" Callie replied before moving in closer to the blonde. Arizona was trying to think of what her life had consisted of before she met Callie, she couldn't remember. Everything before Callie seemed like a blur, a really warped dream and she was now finally living her reality. As Arizona lay there Callie pulled her closer and she rolled over so that Callie could hold her, she found that the only way she could sleep these days was if Callie was right behind her holding her. She needed to feel her girlfriend's breath on her neck and her heart beating against her back; these things were the cure to her insomnia.

"I Love you" she heard Callie whisper as she placed a soft kiss on her shoulder and one on her head before burying her own into Arizona's neck and they drifted off to sleep.

Arizona and Callie had only been asleep for about an hour or so when Cristina came bounding into their room, she was clearly intoxicated and she threw herself on the bed with them.

"I just wanted to say… we kicked some major ass tonight" Arizona sat up in the bed staring at Cristina waiting for the rest of what she had to say but there was only silence.

"That's all, go back to sleep" Cristina whispered as she began exiting the bedroom.

"Goodnight Yang" Arizona felt like she needed to extend an olive branch, even though she was still mad at Cristina for using her just to get through the merger, she felt like she needed to let that go especially after Callie had told her how supportive Cristina had been when her marriage ended and when Erica Hahn had skipped town. If Callie liked Cristina then Arizona was going to try her hardest to like her too.

"Goodnight Roller Girl" Cristina called back and Arizona smiled to herself, maybe there was hope for her and Cristina Yang after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

**CALLIE**

Waking up was never one of Callie's favourite things but after last night she felt like she never wanted to wake up again. All she wanted to do was simply crawl into a ball and hide from the world, mainly from those people closest in her own world. Last night had started out as a romantic dinner for two but it had turned into a WWE Royal Rumble, Arizona had ended up staying at her apartment which she hadn't done in weeks. Cristina took herself to God knows where whilst Owen stayed here in their apartment. She remembered something vaguely about a burst water main but Callie hadn't really paid much attention to all of the details, she was too shocked by how the night ended up being such a disaster and all over NOTHING!

Arizona had gone mad and had somehow managed to end up on the same team as Cristina which was as big of a shock as everything else that happened last night. Mark, Lexie and Avery had been what ignited the inferno; Meredith Grey had even somehow found herself involved. It was the most ridiculous thing Callie had ever seen in her life and to make matters worse she had to sleep alone and that really didn't sit well with her at all. Owen and Callie had been innocent bystanders to the carnage that was last night yet they seemed to be the ones who had to cop the brunt of it and were forced to sleep without their respective partners. It is going to be yet another sleepless night!

**12 hours earlier**

Callie stood by the nurses' station watching everyone buzz around the hospital; it hadn't been a particularly busy morning so it was unusual that everyone seemed to be in such a hurry. She saw Mark and Lexie rushing into the elevator whispering to each other, looking uncharacteristically sneaky. It wasn't their usual heading to an empty on-call room persona; something else was definitely going on.

She stood there for a few minutes as more and more doctors piled into the elevator, she saw Teddy and Owen make their way into the elevator followed by Karev and Meredith. It was as if they were pairing up and slowly but surely heading to a secret location to complete a secret mission run by an evil master, most likely Cristina Yang.

As the day went on it was getting harder for Callie to find interns to help her with her patients let alone residents, she hadn't seen one single resident in over an hour. The last resident she saw was asking her where to find Arizona and proceeded to enter the elevator of no return. Now that she thought about it a number of people had been asking her where to find Arizona today, it's not possible that Arizona is the evil master behind the missing interns and residents is it? No, she had definitely thought that Cristina was behind whatever weirdness was going on here. The thought of Arizona concocting an evil plan was almost laughable, not her Arizona. Her sweet, kind, caring, unimaginably hot Arizona would never do such a thing, would she? Her thoughts were interrupted by Jackson Avery.

"Sorry Dr. Torres but do you know where I could find Dr. Robbins?"

What the hell was going on? She was getting mad now; Arizona was stealing her residents and her interns without so much as asking her, without so much as involving her in the evilness. This was something Callie would not stand for.

"No I don't Avery. How about instead of all the residents worrying about Dr. Robbins' whereabouts you start worrying about the patient in trauma 1?"

Callie shoved a chart into his chest, hard and walked away leaving him staring at her with a shocked look on his face.

As she continued on with her work Callie began to wonder why she wasn't involved in this conspiracy, many ridiculous thoughts ran through her mind until she caught a glimpse of a blonde pony rearing the corner and gliding towards her followed by an unmistakable scowl.

"Calliope! There you are. I've been looking for you all over" Arizona said cheerily whilst Cristina simply nodded in Callie's direction, it was probably an extremely warm greeting coming from Yang. Callie was now more confused than ever, if Arizona was here in front of her and had been looking for her for quite some time then who the hell was stealing all her minions?

Seeing Arizona and Cristina walking the halls of the hospital together really made Callie feel uncomfortable. There wasn't any disapproving looks coming from Arizona, Cristina didn't seem to be rolling her eyes every time Arizona spoke. It was like the Twilight zone and Callie knew that something was seriously wrong with this picture. What, were they like FRIENDS now? She was more convinced than ever that an evil plan had been put into motion at Seattle Grace Mercy West, the only thing she was unsure of was who was in fact the evil mastermind. It seemed unlikely to be Arizona since she now had a Yang co-existing with her Yin. Unless they were in on it together, which again seemed unlikely since in all the time Callie had known Cristina she hadn't proven to be a very effective team player.

Arizona had been searching the hospital for Callie to tell her about their dinner plans. This suited Callie perfectly because she planned on confronting Arizona and making her spill the beans on all this craziness, dinner at Muscalito's would be the perfect venue to squeeze information from the perky blonde. Especially after a few glasses of wine, Callie knew Arizona would be putty in her hands. All she had to do now was make it through the day without killing anyone, which she was sure, was going to be a difficult task since she was left with no residents and a few incompetent interns.

As the hours passed by at an excruciatingly slow pace the buzz in the hospital became more intense. It wasn't just interns and residents whispering, it seemed to be contagious and the attendings were catching it. Callie started to feel like a lion cub in the Zoo as everyone began pouring back out of the

elevator and onto her floor. Interns were now stumbling over themselves to fetch Callie her charts, syringes, gaurs, her coffee. You name it, the interns were more than happy to fetch it for her like small drooling puppies. The residents were also back in full force. Avery, Reed and Percy were being uncharacteristically helpful, she even began thinking they were half decent doctors. Callie had not really had much to do with any of them although she had been forced to attend the surgical wings game night, because it was invented by Arizona and Owen. It was supposed to boost morale within the staff and help bridge the gaps between the Seattle Grace surgeons and the Mercy Wester's. Surprisingly game night had become a successful event and teammates bonded during the 90 minute game of soccer or football or volleyball or netball or any other kind of sport Cristina Yang could kick everyone's ass at but once the game was over and everyone was back at the hospital, old rivalries returned and new tensions rose.

Arizona and Cristina had bonded in a scary way over the whole games night thing. They both wanted to win and they both had the necessary skills to do so, they were the perfect unbeatable duo when it came to games night, but just like everyone else once the games were over and they'd had enough Tequila at Joes they went back to being Callie's way too perky girlfriend and well, Cristina. Or so she thought anyway.

When Callie's shift ended that night she had gone up to the PEDS floor to find Arizona. Upon reaching the correct floor Callie found herself hesitating to exit the elevator as it was eerily quiet, a very rare thing for the paediatric floor. As she reared the corner that would lead her to her destination she was astounded to find an army of doctors silently skulking around outside Arizona's office.

Callie noticed that Mark had his ear pressed up against the door, Lexie was standing behind him nervously biting her nails, a gaggle of shaking interns were lined up along the wall to Lexie's left and Meredith Grey was silently pacing up and down the hallway. Avery, Reed and Percy were huddled together to the right of Lexie and Mark who was now trying to see into the room. Derek Shepherd and Owen Hunt had taken a more relaxed approach and pulled up a hospital bed to perch themselves on whilst waiting for whatever it was that was going to come flying out of the room that Mark had all but broken into.

Callie looked around stunned for a few minutes, not really knowing what to make of this situation. She noticed that Arizona was nowhere in sight and that Cristina was also missing from the crowd that was growing larger by the minute. Just as she was about to break up the party Callie saw a flurry of black curls bounding down the hallway, Cristina was stopped by Meredith Grey.

"Oh my God. There you are! Where have you been? I didn't think you'd miss this for the world" Callie heard Meredith whisper to her best friend, Cristina gave her a look of indignation before spitting out her next sentence which seemed to be directed to every one of the doctors gathered in the hallway.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves. This is just gross" Cristina began pushing her way past the other doctors and heading towards the office door that was causing all this fuss. Callie heard the interns gasp as Cristina reached the door and stood staring at Mark with a look of disgust on her face.

"I knew you couldn't stay away. You're a sell out just like the rest of us" Mark gave Cristina a smug grin as he tore his attention away from the door for the first time since Callie had been standing there watching. Cristina just shook her head at him, it was like she was so disgusted by him that she was lost for words.

Callie watched as Cristina raised her hand to knock on the office door but was swiftly stopped by Mark's firm hands and seconds later by Lexie throwing her arms around the top half of her body, she had her almost in a head lock.

"Whoah Yang, what the hell are you doing?" Mark shot her a look of utter disbelief.

Callie was worried now; Cristina looked as if she were going to murder little Grey.

"Tell your girlfriend to get her hands off me before I detach them from her body in a way that you won't be able to rectify" Cristina spoke calmly to Mark but with a seriousness in her voice that made Lexie let go of her and jump back as if she had just been scolded. Mark also withdrew his hands slowly, it was as if he was afraid that moving them away too quickly would frighten the beast and make it bite his fingers off. He was probably right.

Without further hesitation Cristina knocked on the door and what happened next sent Callie's mind spinning. As soon as Cristina lifted her hand to knock, the once stationary doctors began to scramble in all different directions almost falling over each other to get as far away from the door as they could. With all of the doctors scrambling away Callie was unable to see what was going on at the door, but she heard it open and by the time everyone had dispersed there was no one there and the door was once again shut.

Mark and Lexie were the only two people left in the hallway and Callie was going to take full advantage of this situation.

"Okay you two, on-call room NOW!" by the looks on their faces they knew they were in trouble.

* * *

Callie had managed to grab Mark and Lexie each by one of their arms and swiftly drag them into the nearest on-call room. Once she had aggressively shoved her friends inside the small room and loudly slammed the door shut she turned her intense glare on them. Mark was looking anywhere he could but directly at her and Lexie was standing there with her eyes squeezed shut. Callie would have laughed at the sight of Lexie if she hadn't been so unbelievably mad.

"What are you doing Grey?"

Lexie shifted awkwardly on the spot but did not open her eyes.

"I can't look at you while you yell at me" Lexie had now covered her eyes with one of her hands.

"What are you, 12? Open your eyes!" Callie swatted Lexie on the side of her head causing her to remove her hand and open her eyes reluctantly although she was still refusing to make eye contact.

"Ouch" Lexie let out a sigh of pain barely audible

"Hey Torres, relax" Mark looked up at Callie for the first time since they entered the on-call room, trying to defending his girlfriend.

"Don't even get me started on you. Now neither of you is going to leave this room until you tell me what the hell is going on"

Mark and Lexie shoot awkward glances at one another before turning their attention back to Callie.

"I Can't tell you" Mark looks at Callie almost apologetically, she's his best friend and he doesn't like lying to her or not being able to share things with her, so the past few weeks have been torture for him. He has even gone so far as to avoid her the past few days, but his main loyalty was to Lexie so he was determined to keep his mouth shut.

"Excuse me? You can't tell me? Since when have you ever been able to keep a secret from ANYONE let alone from me?"

"It's got nothing to do with you Cal I swear" Callie could tell that Mark was pleading her to let this go. She wasn't going to.

"Does it have anything to do with Arizona?" Callie shot him and accusing glance and he bowed his head to the floor. Callie could feel her anger growing inside her, if this had something to do with Arizona which she undoubtedly knew that it did, it was ABSOLUTELY her business.

Callie turned on him now; she spun around so fast that neither Lexie nor Mark had seen her coming. She grabbed him by his left nipple and twisted causing him to yelp in pain but remain completely still knowing that moving would only make the situation worse.

"Mark, I swear to God if you move I will twist it right off!" Mark didn't speak but gave her a look that ensured her he had no intention of moving.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you! Just let him go" Callie eyed Lexie suspiciously as she finally spoke. She reluctantly let go of Mark's nipple and grinned to herself as she saw him rubbing it tenderly.

"Okay then Grey… Spill!"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Callie was blinking uncontrollably, trying to make sense of the jumbled mess of a ramble that Lexie had just taken 20 minutes to complete.

"You're kidding me? This is a joke right?" Callie could not believe what Lexie was telling her. She looked to Mark hoping that he was going to break out into a big grin and say this was all a very elaborate hoax. There was no grin.

"So you're telling me that the entire hospital has been hunting my girlfriend down. Stalking her in the hallways, inviting her to drinks…" She shot a look in Mark's direction. He looked down guiltily knowing that he was in the wrong here.

"Getting in on her surgeries, organising stupid games nights… over THIS?" Callie stopped her rant and stood there hands on hips waiting for confirmation from her friends. They both nodded guiltily.

"And everyone is in on it?" another nod.

"Is there anyone who isn't?" They both shake their heads as Callie throws herself onto the bed, laying face down in the pillow.

"Oh wait… Cristina!" Lexie jumped almost yelling.

"Oh of course Cristina would have something to do with this" Callie didn't even both sitting up she simply rolled onto her back.

"No, Yang was the only one who refused to get involved" Mark offered his statement calmly.

"What? That is so un-Cristina. I mean she's a scalpel hungry monster" Callie was sitting up now, feeling more intrigued with where this scenario was going and less angry now that she knew what a ridiculous situation this was.

"Yeah but she's loyal. Surly and inappropriate, horrible bedside manner but she's loyal. And her and Blondie have been walking around here like BFF's for weeks now" Callie stares at Mark looking confused by his statement.

She thinks back over the past few weeks to the nights she came home expecting to find her gorgeous girlfriend in her bed only to find Arizona drinking wine in the lounge room with Cristina, or the times she got up to get a glass of water and found Arizona helping Cristina study for… come to think of it she had no idea what Arizona was helping her roommate with, she hadn't paid much attention because to be honest she didn't care. Now she was kicking herself for not paying more attention to the growing relationship between Cristina and Arizona, she had just been so relieved that they were being civil to each other unlike Cristina had been with her last girlfriend that she hadn't wanted to mess with a good thing by sticking her nose in.

Callie was grateful for Cristina in this moment, come to think of it Callie was grateful for Cristina in general. Yes she was surly and inappropriate and she had the most horrible bedside manner of any doctor Callie had ever seen but what a lot of people didn't know about Cristina is that she's a good listener. Or that she's loyal to a fault, Cristina would never betray someone she considered a friend. She lived by a code, a very whacky and sometimes unreadable code but Cristina Yang was definitely someone you wanted in your corner. Callie was lucky enough to have had Cristina in her corner countless times over the past few years.

When she was dating George, Meredith and Izzie hadn't been very supportive of her, they treated her like she was some kind of cave woman and made her feel uncomfortable, but Cristina never treated her any differently to anybody else. Then when her marriage to George ended in tears and heartache Cristina offered her a place to live and would sit up with her and eat ice cream in the middle of the night, she never offered her advice or lectured her on how to feel she simply listened and passed her another bowl of ice cream. Callie had never told Cristina this but she was truly touched by how Cristina made her a bridesmaid at the wedding that would eventually end in disaster and how she defended her when Izzie betrayed her. The first time she ever felt like she had someone on her side in Seattle was when she met Cristina Yang, so in a way it didn't surprise her that she had chosen to be loyal to Arizona whom Callie loved.

Arizona is the best thing to have ever happened to Callie and Cristina was the one to tell her that. The night of Arizona's ill fated birthday party Cristina had a moment of drunken weakness and told Callie that 'Roller Girl' was a 'keeper'. In Yang's world that was like saying she was a Goddess. Something Callie knew to be undeniably true. Arizona Robbins was indeed a GODDESS!

"They make a strange couple" Mark's words broke Callie from her thoughts as she turned her attention back to him.

"Huh?" Callie wasn't sure she had heard what he was saying.

"Yang and Blondie, I mean they're just so different. Complete opposites. They're like Yin and Yang. Ha Yin and Yang, get it?" Mark nudged Callie with his foot, she ignored him as he was looking extremely proud of himself for his Yin and Yang comment and Callie could tell this was going to stick. Lexie had also found his comments to be hilarious and in this moment Callie realised just how perfect for each other they were. Once Mark and Lexie had stopped giggling like idiots an awkward silence fell over the room.

"Are you going to tell Arizona?" Lexie finally broke the silence, her voice was small and Callie could tell Lexie was scared.

"No. I don't see why she has to know about this it will only upset her. but this stops now! You hear me? No more following her, no more getting in on her surgeries Mark or asking her out for drinks"

"Hey, I like Blondie. That's not why I asked her for drinks" Mark seemed genuinely hurt by this accusation but Callie didn't care because she knew that although Mark did like Arizona that wasn't the only reason he had been so vigorously befriending her.

Callie felt her hip vibrating and then heard her pager go off. Her shift was finished but unfortunately she was still on call.

"I don't want to hear another thing about this, now let's get back to work"

Callie shoved past Mark and Lexie and stormed out of the on-call room.

* * *

Callie, Mark and Lexie had spent the past two hours in the ER helping out with incoming casualties, but everything was seemingly under control now and Callie was hopeful to be out of there soon. However, that dream was shattered when Dr. Percy entered the ER looking shaken.

"The Chief has just called an emergency meeting. All hospital personnel are being paged" As if on cue Callie's pager went off, followed by Mark's then Lexie's. They all looked at each other almost one hundred percent sure what this was going to be about. Callie raised an eyebrow and shook her head at Lexie before swiftly following Percy out of the ER. Mark and Lexie hurried off after her.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Callie was sitting in the auditorium where the monthly M&M's were held watching as the doctors piled in, everyone looking nervous their guilt clearly written all over their faces. As everyone had taken their seats the Chief entered and raised his hands to quieten the crowd. The silence was instantaneous.

"I've called you all in here tonight to inform you that Seattle Grace Mercy West is about to embark on a medical journey like no other…" Callie noticed the room start to buzz with excitement.

"A team of highly qualified surgeons is being put together now as we speak. Some of you will be a part of that team. Some of you will not but all of you will be instrumental in the success of this procedure. If you have been reading the medical journal over the past few months you will know about the Hudson Family and their conjoined twins who share a heart. You will also know that a third year resident at Boston Memorial has spent the past four months trying to find a way to separate the pair. Keeping them together is not an option, the heart is too small and too weak to support both babies' bodies once they are out of the womb and exposed to the stresses of the outside world. A transplant is not an option either as there is little to no chance of finding a working heart small enough to be implanted. So here at Seattle Grace Mercy West we are going to make medical history and we are going to build this baby a heart!"

The room began to buzz loudly this time. People were turning to each other excitedly, expressing interest and wondering who was going to be a part of the team. The room fell deathly silent as Arizona entered the room, Callie's heart almost stopped at the sight of her girlfriend; there was an emotion in Arizona's eyes that Callie couldn't quite register. Another blonde who seemed familiar to Callie but she couldn't place where she had seen her before glided in after Arizona, following them was a very angry looking Bailey. This was not good. This was not good at all.

Callie was a little unnerved by the close proximity between this new blonde and Arizona. They were standing so close to one another that their arms were practically linked. The Chief turned his attention from the crowd to the three women that had just entered the room. The four of them huddled together at the front of the room. Callie noticed a lot of whispering and nodding of heads, she also noticed the way the 'other' blonde placed her hand on Arizona's neck and squeezed it in what seemed to be a comforting way. Arizona always seemed to carry all of her tension in her neck; Callie couldn't count the amount of times she had had to massage Arizona's neck to relieve her of her tension. But how did this woman know about Arizona's neck? And how was it that she was so comfortable touching her so intimately in a room full people? It wasn't intimate in a sexual way, but in a way that disturbed Callie even more. Did this mystery woman know her girlfriend the way that she did? Did she know her better? Was she an ex girlfriend or just a close friend? All kinds of things were going through Callie's head as she watched the scene play out before her eyes, suddenly the foursome at the front of the room turned their attention to the crowd.

The room fell silent as they all felt Bailey's glare upon them. As Callie looked around the room she noticed that no one was game enough to make eye contact with the Nazi, shoes and fingernails were all of a sudden very interesting to all who sat in the room. However they looked up as the Chief began to speak.

"Dr. Bailey here has something she'd like to discuss with all of you but before she does I would like to introduce you all to the third year resident who is going to build the Hudson baby a heart. This is Dr. Brookleigh Robbins!" The room erupted in applause and loud cheers as the blonde flashed a megawatt smile complete with DIMPLES! It suddenly hit Callie who this woman was; she wasn't an old flame of Arizona's, she was Arizona's sister Brooke. When she smiled the family resemblance was unmistakable and Callie would recognise those dimples anywhere.

As Brooke stepped forward to address the crowd, the room fell silent once again. Brooke seemed to have an unwavering confidence that wasn't always present in Arizona, especially around authority figures.

"Thank you Richard. I want to thank you all for being here tonight; I know that a lot of you are here on your own time after a very long day so I won't keep you long. As Chief Webber has already informed you, I will be putting together a team of Seattle Grace Mercy West's finest surgeons to help me perform a heart construction and transplant on a newborn as well as a separation of conjoined twins. This isn't going to be easy and it may not work. This is a surgery that has never been done before and there are no experts in this field. There is only us, a hospital full of surgeons determined to give a baby the best chance at life. I'm going to need four teams of surgeons, team one will assist with inserting twin B with a ventricular assist whilst team two will prepare to separate the twins, team three will take care of twin A whilst team four performs the transplant and Dr. Robbins, Dr. Altman and myself will be putting a team together before the surgery to construct the heart. Over the next two weeks I will be going over your files, watching your surgeries and speaking with your superiors. I need the best surgeons on this case, so only the best will be chosen. Are there any questions?"

Brooke spoke with a scary confidence, she seemed so unlike Arizona yet there were so many ways in which they seemed alike. The entire room was amazed by not only the confidence and sheer brilliance this woman was exuding but the idea of this unbelievable surgery. Callie had never heard of anything even remotely like this being attempted anywhere before and she was intrigued yet afraid that the hospital was setting itself up for yet another failure.

Hands began flying in the air, question after question was being thrown at the younger Robbins but none of the incredibly difficult questions seemed to faze her. Callie was able to peel her eyes off the speaker and glance at Arizona for the first time since Brooke had began speaking. Callie could see the immense pride written all over her lovers face as she stared intensely at her baby sister.

"How are you going to keep the baby alive long enough to get the heart into its body?" Callie heard one of the interns ask. Callie saw Brooke look to a tall blonde in the front row and watched curiously as Teddy Altman stood up to address the room.

"Usually we'd connect a ventricular assist device to the heart but since twin B will have no heart, two devices will be attached to the blood vessels. The machine will pump the blood through the baby's body until we are able to transplant the constructed heart" Teddy Altman spoke with slightly less confidence than the young surgeon before her had but it seemed to satisfy the room of intrigues doctors.

"How exactly are you going to build this heart?" Alex Karev spoke up. Brooke took the lead on this question but Teddy remained standing.

"We will be using viable tissue and muscle as well as arteries and valves from both live and deceased donors to construct a fully functional heart. To form this heart, two segments of muscle will be formed to surround a silastic balloon reinforced mould which allows the formation of the heart. The silastic balloon is then deflated and withdrawn. The interior of the heart is subdivided; the four chambers are formed; and valves are placed in a manner similar to a regular heart. A mechanical device will also be inserted to help the heart to beat. This isn't a lifelong cure. We aren't sure how long the constructed heart will keep the child alive, but hopefully long enough for her to be big enough and strong enough to receive a donor heart"

There we still dozens of people with their hands in the air wanting to ask questions but it was made perfectly clear by the still scarily angry Bailey that question time was over.

"That's enough questions for now people. Let Dr. Robbins get some rest before she has to begin her first day in this nut house!" Callie could tell that Bailey was about to go into a full on rant and she shifted in her seat making herself comfortable.

"Now… I have a few things to say. YOU SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES! Walkin' around here like ya'll is God's gift to medicine. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Sneakin' around here, stalking Dr. Robbins, pushing your way into PEDS surgeries, USING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE!"

Bailey was staring straight at Mark and Lexie. Arizona remained stoic as she perched herself on the desk behind Bailey. Callie thought that perhaps Bailey was going to explode with the amount of anger she seemingly had bottled up.

"I have never in my life met a more selfish, pigheaded bunch of people. Not only have you been neglecting your patients for weeks while you hide in on-call rooms or sit around the cafeteria hatching plans or slink around the hospital to spy on the PEDS floor but you have shown a disgusting amount of disrespect to Dr. Robbins, who has been nothing but a kind and courteous teach to all of you. In my opinion none of you deserve to be a part of this surgery and if it were up to me I'd have you all banned from even watching the damn thing. But since this is not my decision and Dr. Robbins is a far more forgiving human than I am, I will leave you with this… I WILL BE WATCHING YOU! Every single one of you will have me breathing down your neck, every second of every day. You make one mistake and you're out. So watch out people, the Nazi is back!"

And with this last statement Bailey storms out leaving the entire room stunned and horrified. Callie had no doubt in her mind that Bailey had meant every word she said. They were all in for a rough few weeks. Not long after Bailey's abrupt exit Callie noticed Brooke and Arizona begin to exit, she also noticed Arizona hesitate before turning to address the crowd. She felt the entire room take a sharp intake of breath as they prepared for a second onslaught.

"I just want to tell all of you that I'm hurt. I'm hurt that my colleagues and my friends would stoop so low as to lie, cheat and manipulate me all for a chance to be a part of some surgery. And to think that I would actually be swayed by my personal relationships with any of you, or that I could be bribed or manipulated into making a professional decision is well, it's just hurtful that you all think so low of me"

Callie felt her heart shatter into a million pieces as she watched Arizona swiftly exit the crowded room. She knew that Arizona was hurting, BADLY. She had been betrayed and humiliated not only by her peers but by her friends. Callie got up from her chair and found herself racing out the door after Arizona, as she entered the hallway she searched for Arizona finally laying eyes on her at the far end of the hallway. She was speaking to Cristina, who Callie had noticed was the only surgeon in the hospital that wasn't at the meeting tonight. Callie knew that she had to get to Arizona as it was only a matter of time before she crumbled. But she was too late, it was already happening. She watched as Arizona's shoulders dropped and her head bowed, her hands went up to shield her face and Callie knew the tears were already falling freely. She could see Arizona's legs begin to weaken but just as she was about to fall in a heap Callie saw Cristina reach out and catch her in the most un-Cristina kind of way. She was gentle and had a look of concern and what seemed to be pain on her face. Cristina hit the floor as she caught a distraught Arizona in her arms and pulled her close to her chest, rocking her soothingly. Callie watched as her roommate now on the floor with Arizona in her lap, comforted her girlfriend. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. That should be me. That's my Arizona, I should be comforting her. Yet somehow she knew Arizona was in good hands and for the second time today Calliope Torres thanked God for Cristina Yang.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

**ARIZONA**

Arizona was exhausted, no she was beyond exhausted. There wasn't a word for how she was feeling right now. The past few weeks had been hectic with preparing for the upcoming surgery and the arrival of her sister. She hadn't had much time to spend alone with Callie over the past few weeks; both of their schedules were crazy so any time they did spend together they didn't like to talk about work or troubles at the hospital. The only time they were ever really able to be alone over the past few weeks was late at night and they usually spent this time making love. Arizona knew she should've told Callie about the surgery and about her sister coming to town but she was nervous, not just nervous about the surgery but about Callie and Brooke meeting for the first time.

She knew that most people would find this fear to be completely irrational and Cristina was quick to tell her so when she happened to mention it to her one night while they were watching TV at Callie's. Arizona and Callie's work schedules had been clashing lately and generally when Arizona was off Callie was either at work or on call, so she sat around in Callie's apartment with Cristina. Usually they sat in silence, ordered take-out because neither of them could feed themselves without Callie there to cook for them, or they watched movies. Oddly enough they seemed to have the same taste in films. At first it had been a little awkward being alone in the apartment with just Cristina, generally Callie was here to break the silence or Owen would be there as a buffer but in the past few weeks it had been just the two of them.

One night while they were sitting in silence, Arizona was reading an extremely boring book her mother had sent her and Cristina turned to her and asked her a surgical question. She spent the rest of the night explaining a complicated procedure to a very attentive Cristina. This was the moment that changed their relationship, it was clear that Cristina appreciated Arizona's surgical expertise and Arizona had found an appreciation for Cristina's drive and her thirst for knowledge. They formed a new relationship based on respect and Arizona found herself ending up at Callie's even when she knew Callie wasn't going to be there.

As she lay crumpled on the floor of the hospital she suddenly becomes aware of the arms that are holding her. They are smaller than the ones she has become accustomed to over the past few months and the dark curly hair that she was crying into smelled very different to the peppermint scent she had grown to love. Cristina was holding her tightly and gently rubbing her back when she heard an angel's voice.

"Arizona?" Callie hesitantly knelt down beside the sobbing blonde.

Hearing Callie's voice broke Arizona from her haze and as she looked up from Cristina's messy curls and into those dark mocha orbs everything else seemed to fade away. All of her worries and cares didn't seem to matter anymore.

"Hey" was all she could manage to get out as she stared into the eyes of the woman she loved, she suddenly felt stronger and the world looked clearer. She began to stand herself up and felt Cristina loosen her grip as she did so but as Alex Karev reared the corner and Arizona noticed the look on Cristina's face she panicked and pretended to lose her balance so as to distract Cristina, which luckily had been a brilliant plan.

Once Karev was out of sight Arizona shook it off and stood up, good as new but she was almost bowled over by her over enthusiastic girlfriend. Callie squeezed her so tight she thought she was going to pass out, when the brunette finally released her she felt the blood rush to her head and was once again a little unsteady on her feet. Thankfully Callie and Cristina were both paying an extreme amount of attention to her and were quick enough to steady her on her feet. It was only then that she finally found her voice.

"I'm fine. Thank you. I'm going to go have a shower and then we'll go to dinner ok? We can talk about it then" Arizona gave Callie a week yet dimpled smile and leant in to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek, as she did so she whispered in the brunette's ear.

"Keep Cristina away from Alex Karev" and with that she strode off into the nearby attendings locker room leaving Callie to deal with Cristina, which in retrospect she knew was a bad idea but she was tired and all she wanted to do was end this torturous day. She just hoped that Alex Karev didn't come back through this hallway while Cristina was in the vicinity.

**CALLIE**

Callie watched her girlfriend glide off into the attendings locker room. She had no idea what Arizona was talking about and she chalked it up to the stress of the day. Callie caught a glimpse of Cristina from the corner of her eye and she was staring at the door to the attendings locker room with a similar look on her face to the one Callie was sure she herself was wearing. Cristina Yang didn't just enjoy cutting hearts open for a living, she actually had one. Who knew?

"She better not freak out and ruin this surgery" and in trademark Yang style she had to go and ruin a perfectly pleasant moment. Callie turned to snap at her roommate when she noticed the look of concern had not left Cristina's face and she decided to go with a different approach.

"Thank you Cristina" Callie blurted out.

"Huh? For what?" Cristina was now staring at her like she thought that maybe Callie was losing the plot a little bit too. Callie's expression remain calm and neutral, she knew any extreme expressions of emotion would send Cristina running for the hills and whilst this was something she used to her advantage a lot when she wanted to get rid of her, this was not one of those times. She wanted, no she wanted to say this to Cristina and she needed her to hear it.

"For being the only person in this hospital who didn't stab Arizona in the back, for what you did just now, for sitting up with her on the nights I wasn't able to. Thank you for being there Cristina. I don't say this often enough, in fact I don't think I've ever said it but you're a good friend" Callie finished her little speech and was proud of herself for being able to say it without gagging. Cristina however looked absolutely horrified by Callie's expressing of her feelings.

"Ok and can you never say it again?" Although Cristina had completely shut down Callie's attempt at thanking her she was glad she did it and she was even more glad that Cristina reacted the way she did. For a moment there Callie had thought she had lost her to the perky side of life, but it remained clear that Cristina Yang had her feet planted firmly on the ground in the dark side of life right next to Callie. This was made even more clear when Alex Karev came wandering back down the hallway.

"Where'd your roller mom go Yang?" Karev shot her a smug grin as he continued down the hallway.

"Where's your wife Alex?" Cristina retorted causing Alex to turn his head and spit his next sentence over his shoulder.

"Shut up snitch!" Alex didn't wait for a reply from Cristina he just kept walking. Callie could see the fury in Cristina's eyes and suddenly Arizona's voice was replaying in her head but it all happened so fast there was nothing she could do.

"You know what, I've had enough of him" and before Callie knew what was going on Cristina had grabbed one of the charts sitting on the nurses' station that they were standing near and she was sprinting down the hallway. Callie had to hand it to her Cristina was fast and not only was she fast but it was like her feet were barely touching the ground which is why Alex didn't hear her coming until she was right on top of him. Just as he turned his head to the side she WHACKED him as hard as she could in the face with the chart she was carrying. The force that she had hit him with was so great that he all but flew into the wall and landed on the floor in a heap. She was still running when she had swung the chart at him which seemed to give it that extra bit of force needed to send him flying. She didn't say a word as she walked back to where Callie was standing frozen on the spot. She casually placed the chart back where it belonged and nodded toward Callie as she began walking away.

"I'll see you at home" was the last thing Callie heard as Cristina walked up the hallway in the opposite direction to where Alex was moaning and groaning down the other end of the hallway. There were other people there now; two nurses and Dr. Percy were trying to get him to take his hands away from his face. Callie couldn't help it as a grin began to appear on her face, she bit her lip trying to suppress her laughter when Arizona returned from the Attendings locker room looking refreshed and ready for dinner.

"What happened there?" Arizona had noticed the large group of people that were now gathering around Karev and began to make her way over there when Callie grabbed her arm.

"Nothing, I'll tell you at dinner. Let's go, I'm starving" Callie tried her best to make the dinner sound more inviting than finding out what was going on down the hall. It looked like she had been successful because Arizona broke out in her trademark grin and before she could change her mind Callie swiftly ushered her up the hallway the way Cristina had exited. As she wrapped her arm around the smaller woman she knew that dinner was going to involve some very interesting conversations.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

**CALLIE**

Callie had known that it had been a rough day for Arizona, she could tell by the look on her face that she was beyond exhausted. She was never fun when she got like this, when she worked herself so hard for so long that she could barely stand up anymore. Generally fun would be a word that fits well with Arizona's perky personality but Callie knew from the minute she had seen Arizona sobbing in Cristina's arms that tonight would not be one of many fun filled nights they would share together.

Callie had decided to take Arizona back to her place and order take-out instead of out for dinner. She thought that it would be better if Arizona could get into something comfortable, have way more wine then she usually would and then she would be able to speak about her day freely without the stresses of being in a crowded restaurant.

Arizona looked relieved to not have to put on a front in public. She was content to sit on the coach in one of Callie's shirts with a bottle of wine as she told the story of her disastrous day. She told Callie all about the surgery and how she spent the day with the Hudson family. Callie cold tell from the way Arizona was talking about them that she really liked this family and she was already very attached to them. She also knew that if something went wrong with this surgery Arizona was not going to take it well.

Arizona continued to recount her entire day with the Hudson family but paused when she had gotten to the part about Brooke. Callie wasn't sure what the reason was for the fear in the blonde's voice but she definitely heard a quiver of fear as she spoke her sister's name and just like that Arizona went into a whole spiel about being fearful that Brooke's arrival would somehow affect their relationship. Callie watched on in amazement as Arizona began to cry and apologise for not telling her about Brooke's arrival or the surgery earlier.

"I'm so sorry. I know I should've told you about Brookleigh coming and the surgery and everything but you've just been so busy… I'm not saying this is your fault. This is totally my fault. I snapped at you for not being there for me when I needed you and I know you've trying so hard to make up for that lately and then I go and do this" Arizona was now sobbing in her hands on the couch as she blurted out her little speech. Callie stood in the kitchen just staring blankly at her girlfriend whose sobs were getting louder.

She didn't know what to do, it hadn't even crossed her mind to be angry at Arizona for not telling her about the surgery or the fact that her sister was coming to town. In fact standing there with a blank look on her face she wondered why she wasn't mad. She should be, since her girlfriend had spent weeks seemingly confiding in everyone but her and she wasn't even game enough to think about what it meant that Arizona hid the fact her sister was coming into town. Was Arizona hoping that Brooke would slip in and out before Callie even knew she was there? Was Arizona ashamed of her? Did she think that Brooke wouldn't like her? Did she think that Callie wouldn't like Brooke? Was this relationship not really as serious for Arizona as it was for Callie? I mean they had said the words, they had said 'I love you' and Arizona had said it to her first, something that had never happened to Callie before. She knew Arizona meant it but was it a more casual love than Callie had realised?

There were so many thoughts and questions going through her head now that she could barely breathe let alone stand up anymore, so she took herself to the couch where Arizona was sitting and she sat stiffly beside her.

"I'm not mad at you" was all Callie could manage to squeeze out of her mouth.

"You're not?" Arizona's head shot up so quickly Callie almost jumped backwards. As she looked into the deep pools of navy blue all of Callie's fears about their relationship faded away. What was she thinking? Arizona Robbins wasn't one to settle, she wasn't one to cry from deep within her soul over a casual love. What in the hell was a casual love anyway? Callie shook off her fears as she took one of Arizona's shaking hands in her own and began absentmindedly tracing circles over the blonde's wrists like she did when they were lying around watching TV or when they would walk down the street holding hands. Callie knew by the way their hands fit so perfectly together that they were forever.

She had never told anyone this before but that was how she knew she was in love with Arizona, one day as she walked from her apartment to the hospital to start her shift she had reached for her girlfriend's hand only to find that it didn't quite fit the way it was supposed to. She turned back and saw that she had taken hold of Cristina's hand as a reflex. Cristina being Cristina was the one to point out the obvious stating "Dude, you've got it bad". Callie knew that never a truer word had been spoken.

"No. I mean I should be. I think, I don't know… but I'm not mad at you. I'm so madly in love with you that all I could think about was how horrible you must be feeling and what I could do to make you feel better. I'm so in love with you that I forgot to be mad at you" Callie's next words had simply fallen out of her mouth, she didn't mean to say them and once they were out she sort of wished she could take them back. She was a little embarrassed by her rambling but it was something she simply couldn't control around the beautiful blonde.

"I'm a bad girlfriend I know and I completely understand if you hate me and want to break up with me" Arizona began crying again but this time Callie acted quickly. She pulled the sobbing blonde into her arms and gently rocked her.

"Arizona, I never want to break up with you. I want to be with you forever. It sounds like corniest thing in the world but you really are the best thing that's ever happened to me. Before you I was so lost. You made me see that life's not just a maze of dark and twisty tunnels that you have to survive. I see that there's good stuff too and that even though those tunnels still exist I know you're here to go through them with me. That's all I need Arizona, all I need is you. I don't need you to be perfect, God knows I'm not, I just need you to fight for us everyday like I'm going to fight for us everyday"

Arizona was now staring at her all wide eyed and she felt like maybe she was getting through to her. Suddenly the serious face Arizona was wearing cracked and turned into the biggest dimpled grin Callie had ever seen and a surprising giggle left her lips as she spoke.

"Would you like some wine with that cheese?" Arizona burst out laughing, she was laughing so hard that her body was shaking violently and Callie noticed that she had stopped breathing for a few seconds. The brunette couldn't help but laugh herself, she knew that everything she had just said was true and even as she looked over at her now hysterically laughing girlfriend Callie knew that Arizona had heard her and believed her.

"You know what? This is not how I thought this evening was going to turn out. When I saw that every freakin' person in the hospital was skulking around outside your office this afternoon and I had to torture Mark and Lexie until they told me what was going on, I really never expected us to be sitting here laughing"

Callie and Arizona were now both laughing so hard that their sides hurt. Arizona had flung herself onto the floor, lying on her back so as to make it easier for her to breath. Callie had never been happier than in this moment. She was sitting around in her apartment laughing hysterically with the most beautiful creature she had ever laid eyes on, a creature she knew belonged to her and loved her unconditionally. There was no surly roommate in sight or red headed military dudes hogging her girlfriend, there were no nosey neighbours to be seen and best of all she had the day off tomorrow and so did the luscious blonde sprawled out on her living room floor. Suddenly her picture perfect image was shattered when 'her-perkiness' snapped up into a sitting position and had a look on her face that expressed anything but perkiness.

"I'm sorry what?"

Callie felt her stomach drop but she forced herself to remain casual about the situation and decided to simply repeat herself, trying to bring the humour back into the room.

"When I pulled Mark and Lexie into the third floor on-call room to ask them what the hell was going on. I swear I could have smacked them when they told me" Callie was now praying that Arizona's life changing dimples would make a cameo in this conversation. No such luck.

"When was this?"Arizona's voice was stern yet eerily calm. Callie knew it was coming and she hesitated before speaking again.

"When I came up to look for you after my shift" she felt herself involuntarily flinch and tense her entire body waiting for the onslaught of words from the tiny blonde.

"At 2?" Arizona's eyes narrowed as she waited for Callie's answer, almost warning her that her next sentence was going to mean life of death.

"Yeah, I guess" Callie managed to say, after what felt like hours of Arizona staring at her expectantly. At this point she knew there was no point in trying to cover her ass, she was caught out. She knew it and Arizona knew she knew it.

"So you knew about this for hours before the Chief's meeting?" Callie opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. She knew that anything she said from here on out would only serve as an accelerant on the fire that would soon be blazing in the belly of her love.

"You didn't just find out at the meeting? You knew and you didn't think to, I don't know… TELL ME?" Arizona was fuming, her eyes had turned a brilliant violet and she was extremely scary for such a small person.

Callie was silent and she tried her best to remain still, because she knew that if she couldn't come up with a plan to put this inferno out she was going to have to simply shield herself whilst Arizona bombarded her with big words and what she hoped would be SMALL objects.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

**ARIZONA**

She felt herself getting angrier by the second as she stood there in Callie's living room yelling at her. Callie was just stuttering in response and Arizona could tell that it was because she was in shock at how quickly the conversation had turned from hysterical laughing to a screaming match. Callie was never one to catch onto these things quickly, Arizona knew this and the fact that Callie was just standing there staring at her was even more infuriating than what she had done to make Arizona angry in the first place. After a few minutes of constant berating from Arizona, she finally saw a fire ignite in Callie's eyes and she knew that she was about to start fighting back.

"Ok, can you stop YELLING NOW?" Callie yelled over the top of Arizona's ranting.

"I'm sorry what? No actually I can't stop yelling. You allowed me to be humiliated in front of the entire hospital. In front of not only my superiors and my colleagues but the residents and the interns, people who are supposed to respect me, look up to me. I am supposed to teach them, mentor them. I'm completely humiliated and if you had told me when you found out I could have been saved this humiliation. So no, I CAN'T STOP YELLING!" Arizona was becoming upset again and she knew that it wouldn't be long before she was crying. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, just as she had thought she was calm enough to continue her rant they heard keys in the door and knew that Cristina was home.

Arizona was sort of relieved to see Cristina and as she entered the living room in a huff and threw her bag onto the kitchen counter Arizona knew that Callie had never been so relieved to see Cristina in her whole life.

"You know what? You two have the right idea. I think I'm going gay. Men suck!" and with that statement Cristina reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine and poured herself a large mug full. When Arizona had first met Cristina her crass behaviour, rudeness and generally crappy attitude had really annoyed her. Not to mention the time Cristina had used her to try and save herself from merger elimination. But Arizona had forgiven Cristina for that, she hadn't forgotten of course and she probably never would but lately she had come to genuinely enjoy Cristina's company. Arizona found her to be very intelligent, quite humorous and although she was insensitive and sometimes thoughtless she knew that Cristina meant well. The fact that Cristina had been a really good friend to Callie over the years only endeared her more to Arizona. If she was being honest with herself she knew that she and Cristina would never be best friends but over the past few weeks she had come to the realisation that they did indeed work extremely well together. Cristina was skilful, efficient; she had a no nonsense work ethic and best of all she wasn't one of those doctors who let their emotions get the best of them. Cristina Yang was definitely the frontrunner in the race to be Arizona's work spouse. If Callie could be work married to Mark Sloan than perhaps she could have Cristina.

"Well you can have Calliope, although she's a sneaky liar who has more loyalty to her friends than her girlfriend, so good luck with that" Arizona said as an off handed comment that would have been funny at any other moment. Arizona could tell Cristina wasn't sure whether to laugh and join in on the joke or ask her what the hell her problem was.

"Hey! Don't go palming me off on Yang" Callie managed to shout out, Arizona saw that her comment had hurt Callie and she felt a sharp pain of regret and then it was gone and she was mad again, just like that.

"On second thoughts I think I'll stick with the weaker sex. All this oestrogen can't be good for your health. What are you two fighting about anyway?" Cristina pulled herself up onto the kitchen bench and sat there with her legs crossed drinking wine from the bottle now, waiting for one of them to answer her.

"Arizona is upset because I didn't run straight to her and tell her about 'Operation: Wheely Sneaks" Callie was hoping beyond all hope that Cristina was going to side with her, Arizona could see the shimmer of hope light up her face just before Cristina spoke.

"There was a name?" Arizona asked incredulously.

"You knew?" Cristina looked at Callie dumbfounded. "Since when?" she asked, her mind still boggled by the thought.

"Since her shift ended" Arizona pointed out, knowing that this argument was inevitably going in her favour and that Cristina was of course going to back her up on this.

"Since 2? You knew since 2?" Cristina was now shaking her head disapprovingly at Callie

"I knew that hanging our shifts on the fridge was a bad idea" Callie threw her arms in the air and threw herself backwards onto the couch.

"Calliope decided that instead of telling me that I had a hit out on me she'd keep it to herself and let me be humiliated in front of the entire hospital" Arizona felt tears springing in her eyes again as she remembered the scene at the hospital when she found out about, what was it that Callie had called it? 'Operation: Wheely Sneaks'.

"Dude… that's cold, even for me" Cristina began climbing down off the kitchen bench as she said this leaving Callie staring at her just mystified by the fact that Cristina had taken sides with Arizona.

"Well at least I told you. You didn't tell me ANYTHING! I had to find out your sister was in town form MARK. MARK, Arizona!" Arizona could see it in the Latina's eyes that she was getting mad too now. This was not going to end well, Arizona knew it and yet she couldn't help herself. She just had to retaliate.

"Well I find out lots of things from Mark. So welcome to my world!" Callie knew exactly what Arizona was talking about. There have been many times in their relationship when Callie had shut down leaving Arizona on the outside of everything she was feeling then Arizona would find it out from Mark and his big mouth. Although she was grateful for Mark because he had always been there for Callie and in his own way he was very supportive of their relationship, she couldn't help but feel like an outsider in Callie's world sometimes and every now and then she found herself resenting Mark Sloan and his smooth talking ability to get Callie to open up to him. Arizona knew that it was because Mark is the only person in her life that hasn't hurt her. But Arizona hadn't hurt her either; she had done nothing but support and help Callie through her endless crises, yet somehow Callie still seemed to find it easier to talk to Mark.

Arizona knew she was being hard on Callie now but she didn't care, she was sick of being taken for granted, she was always the one to do the chasing and now it was Callie's turn to chase her.

"That's not fair" Callie protested softly, barely able to look up at Arizona knowing how truthful her statement about Mark had been. Arizona wasn't going to allow herself to feel guilty about upsetting Callie with this; she deserved to have someone ache for her for once. Arizona knew without a doubt that Callie loved her and if she were being honest she also knew that Callie had been trying really hard lately. They talked a lot about their feelings for one another, how they felt about the future and even the effects the past still had on the both of them, which is probably why Arizona hadn't wanted to mention the surgery or her sister. She had been content to listen to the gorgeous brunette talk about her days, her feelings and everything in between and she didn't want to ruin it with her own stuff. Callie was opening up to her finally and she wasn't about to distract her with things that weren't entirely necessary at the time.

"It might not be fair but it's true Cal" Cristina had chosen this moment to immerse herself in their relationship. It made her feel good to know that sometimes she could be right too. Although she wasn't naïve enough to think that Cristina was on her side when it came to her relationship with Callie, Cristina would always be on Callie's side. She knew this but it gave her hope that she was finally being accepted as one of the group instead of just the girlfriend they all had to tolerate.

If looks could kill Arizona knew that Cristina would be one very dead Yang right about now but luckily for everyone involved before Callie could physically hurt her they noticed the door inching open and all three women turned their attention towards it. When it finally opened there stood Jackson Avery and Arizona knew that this couldn't be good.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

**CALLIE**

This day just kept getting worse by the second and Callie knew that she had absolutely no control over the way it was to turn out. First she had spent the entire day in the pit which she hated anyway, then all of her residents and interns had disappeared leaving her angry and frustrated not to mention suspicious that her girlfriend was behind it all. Once all the interns and residents had returned to the pit their strategy had changed and she had become the one being hunted, Callie was now guessing that it was because they couldn't find Arizona and were hoping to either run into her if they were in the same vicinity as Callie or that Callie would somehow manage to mention where Arizona was. Come to think of it she did notice how chatty the residents had been today, they were all sharing thoughts and feelings and Callie knew it was because they were trying to get her to do the same. If she had known their intentions at the time the tally of broken bones for the day would have been significantly higher.

Finding the entire hospital skulking around Arizona's office had definitely been one of the days lowest moments, she was racked with fear and anger as she watched this scene play out before her eyes and looking back on it she was very regretful about the way she handled things. Mark and Lexie had eventually told her what was going on but that didn't seem to help the situation since it seemed that the plan was already well underway. Callie hadn't originally been too upset with Mark and Lexie, they wanted in on the surgery. Well, Lexie wanted in and she was threatening Mark with 'no sex' to help her.

Callie had been called back into the pit with an emergency even tho her shift was over. She had mistakenly thought she was free of the crazed medical professionals she was forced to work with all day everyday and she was naive enough to think that she was going to get to spend a romantic night alone with her girlfriend. The Chief's meeting had also put a damper on things, this was not how she wanted to lay eyes on Arizona's sister for the first time and she was angry at all of her friends for stealing what was supposed to be a special moment between her and Arizona and turning it into a horrible memory.

Callie was not only regretting the moments of strange activity that she had overlooked today but she was regretting not calling Mark on all the weird little things he had been doing over the past few weeks. No wonder Arizona was angry, she would be too if she had just found out that everyone she knew was using her and manipulating her. It made Callie's heart ache to think about how hurt Arizona must be and suddenly she didn't care that she was being yelled at. If she was being honest with herself, she deserved it. She deserved it not just for today or the past few weeks that she had been blind to everyone taking advantage of her kind, caring and trusting Arizona but she deserved it because she had been a distant and ignorant girlfriend right from the beginning of their relationship.

Cristina had come home and sided with Arizona, which of course Callie knew wasn't personal. Cristina was a rational human being and she chose a side based on the facts and the fact of the matter was that here in this moment Callie was wrong. Callie knew she was wrong, Arizona knew it too and of course Cristina was here to point it out to everyone. Under any other circumstances Callie would be more than pissed at her roommate but as Callie watched Jackson Avery enter their house, uninvited mind you and out of breath, she for some reason felt like her roommate might be needing a teammate tonight and not a rival. Judging by the look on Arizona's face, she was right.

Jackson came crashing into the apartment, out of breath, wet and angry. Arizona went to step forward towards where Avery was now creating a puddle in the doorway but without even thinking about it Callie had grabbed Arizona's wrist and stopped her from taking any steps closer to the angry resident. Arizona turned and shot Callie a deathly look, she knew she was still in trouble and their fight was far from over so she reluctantly let go of Arizona's wrist. The blonde seemed to catch a glimpse of the fear in Callie's eyes and understood she was just being protective with the whole wrist grabbing thing. Arizona didn't move, in fact if Callie's attention hadn't been so glued to the man standing in her doorway she would have sworn that Arizona had moved closer to her.

Within a flash Cristina was out of the kitchen and in the living room glaring at Avery. It seemed that Callie had misread the look on Arizona's face; it was fear of Jackson but fear of Cristina. Her dark haired roommate was giving the Mercy Wester a look that could burn a whole in ones soul. She didn't know what he had done but it must have been bad to have made the usually cool calm and collected Cristina so furious. After an agonising wait he finally spoke.

"Cristina, please!" Avery wasn't angry at all, he was wincing in pain. Callie had noticed him try to take a step forward but was unable to put pressure on his left leg. Wait… Cristina? Since when did Jackson Avery call her roommate by her first name? This was getting weird and she looked over at Arizona who was much less surprised by this altercation and more concerned about whether she would be able to throw herself in the way of the bullet Cristina was undoubtedly going to shoot at Avery. Callie supposed that either Arizona had witnessed the mess between Yang and Avery or her roommate had decided to confide in her girlfriend. She seriously hoped it was the former since the latter was far too scary to even think about.

"For God's sake you idiot, what are you doing here?" Cristina screamed at him while Callie and Arizona stood there in shock.

"Well you wouldn't speak to me at the hospital so you gave me no choice. Then I come here and who do I find? Dr. Robbins of course, I can't believe you snitched on us. And you, I can't believe you're going to let Bailey torture us. Callie looked on, surprised by the fact that Avery seemed hurt by Arizona's choice to let Bailey discipline the Residents.

"You can't believe ME? I'm not the one going around manipulating people and cheating to get in on a surgery that I obviously don't have the skills for!" Callie winced as the heard the harsh words come out of Arizona's mouth. She knew Arizona was angry and when she got angry she usually cried which she had already done and then she yelled but she had never known her to be mean. It was only now beginning to hit Callie just how much this had effected Arizona and just how betrayed she truly felt by this whole thing.

"And Cristina is not a snitch" Callie watched as Arizona's face softened as she said these words. Cristina however remained like stone. She made no effort to defend herself and Callie remembered that Karev had also called Cristina a snitch. Clearly everyone thought that it was Cristina who had ratted them out to Arizona, this didn't seem very Cristina-like but what did Callie know?

"Oh of course you would say that. You're the one who's been bribing her with all the best surgeries to spy on us. I never pegged you as someone who plays favourites but I guess I was wrong. Even the honourable Dr. Robbins couldn't turn stay away from hospital politics huh?"

"Avery, you are seriously out of line!" Callie found herself becoming furious with this little jerk. How dare he stand there and accuse her Arizona of being anything but honourable?

"Don't get involved Calliope! I can handle my own battles than you very much" Arizona spat this sentence at Callie.

"I was just" –

"You were just what? Trying to protect me? Well you didn't care too much about trying to protect me this afternoon when it was your friends that I needed protection from now did you?" the entrance of Jackson Avery had diverted Arizona's attention for a moment but it was made very clear that Callie was indeed still in the dog house and she wasn't sure any amount of interruptions would change this. Callie was at a loss.

"I'm sorry" was all Callie could manage to get out. She had nothing else left to say.

"Ok so you came here like a big man and said what you had to say. You done now?" Cristina seemed to be just as angry as Arizona and Callie had no idea why. There was definitely something else going on between Yang and Avery that Callie had missed.

"No. I didn't even come here to talk about that. I came here to finish the conversation we were having when you pushed me down the stairs" Avery was shifting on his feet now but he was still unable to put pressure on his left leg. Callie could see that his ankle was now very swollen and it really didn't look right. She knew that both Arizona and Cristina would have noticed that Avery was in pain and with the way that ankle was swelling they had to of noticed that. However, they didn't seem to care, at all. Callie stole a glance at Arizona and her heart sank when she saw a cold expression on her face. Callie had thought that there would never be a thing that didn't look good on the beautiful blonde but this was cold, hard look was something that definitely did not suit Arizona.

"That conversation was finished. I have told you everything I needed to say. And it's not my fault you're an idiot and fell down the stairs. So why don't you take your stupid ass back to the hospital and get yourself an x-ray because it's probably broken" and with that Cristina stormed back into the kitchen and began swigging on the wine from the bottle once again.

"I really think you should go to the hospital, it doesn't look" –

Callie was cut off by Arizona's accusing glare.

"It looks bad Arizona" Callie tried to defend herself.

"Well why don't you take him to the hospital Calliope? If you're so worried about him" Arizona seriously had bitch down tonight, it was kind of scary. A little bit like being told off by your pms-ing kindergarten teacher.

"Who's going back to the hospital?" they heard another voice ask and suddenly there was Owen Hunt standing in the hallway staring into their apartment. It did not go unnoticed by Callie that Cristina's eyes widened and she choked on her wine at the sound of Owen's voice. She also noticed that Arizona shot Cristina a worried look. Oh yeah, something was definitely going on and if Callie hadn't been so upset over the fight she was having with Arizona she would totally be enjoying this.

"Dr. Avery here has managed to injure himself and was just on his way back to the hospital to have it checked out" Arizona said firmly and Callie knew this was her way of telling Avery to get out. Owen was still in the hallway looking confused, he wasn't able to enter the apartment because Avery was standing in the doorway and had yet to move out of the way.

"Oh yeah I see, because he's not standing in a room with three doctors or anything" Owen joked, he was trying to be amusing and break the obvious tension filled room that he was still yet to enter.

"He needs and x-ray and as you can see none of the three doctors here seem to have one of those just lying around" Cristina snapped at Owen as she re-entered the living room, she was now standing next to Arizona. Both had their arms crossed, one eye brow cocked and pursed lips and they were staring at the two rain soaked men. it was scary how much they looked alike in this moment, Callie thought she was going to be sick with fear that she had lost Arizona to the dark side. So much for Mark's theory of them being 'Yin and Yang', they looked more like 'Yang and Yang' right now.

Callie saw that Owen was just about to offer to take Avery back to the hospital when his attention was caught by something else in the hallway. Callie tried to see what it was but she couldn't from where she was standing, then suddenly she heard it and she felt her stomach all but fall out of her.

"Yang got you patrolling the hallways Hunt?" Callie heard Mark's distinct voice call out and she panicked as she realised it was getting closer.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

**CALLIE**

Although Arizona had neglected to tell Callie about the arrival of her sister and all about the big surgery, she knew that it was because Callie was being so vocal with her feelings lately. Arizona had been staying here in Callie's apartment every night for the past few weeks and although they had been able to spend only very little time together, the time they did spend together was filled up with sex and Callie talking. They had been having the most amazing sex she'd ever had in her life, she couldn't explain it but it was beyond earth shattering. Callie had almost begun to feel like a bit of a pervert due to the amount of amazing sex they had been having and then afterwards Callie would feel the urge to talk to Arizona, to say all of the things that had been on her mind that day. If she had to be honest, that part was just as good as the hot sex if not better. She felt a connection to Arizona in those moments that reached into the depths of her soul; something had been awakened inside of her and not just sexually but emotionally. She was finally in love with someone who loved her back, someone she felt safe with, someone who would never leave her not even if she were pushed. Arizona was it for Callie, she was the one and although they had exchanged 'I love you's' a month or so ago now it wasn't until the last couple of weeks that the brunette had begun to feel this way. She wasn't sure if it was the earth shattering sex that was awakening her soul or that perhaps the awakening of her soul had triggered the life altering sex and she didn't really care, either way was fine with her. Callie had always thought of herself as a very sexual person, she loved sex but with Arizona it was different, with Arizona she NEEDED sex. She NEEDED to feel close to her, to feel loved and wanted by her and she did. Yet, here she was lying in her big comfy bed all alone.

Mark had shown up last night right in the middle of the awkwardness that was the odd triangle of Cristina, Avery and Hunt. Callie still had no idea what was going on between Cristina and Avery, she guessed that it wasn't what it looked like since she knew Cristina and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her roommate was no cheater. Mark of course found the whole thing hilarious whilst Lexie just stood in the hallway for everything that went down, Callie wasn't sure whether it was out of choice or because Arizona was circling and the daggers shooting from her eyes weren't allowing Lexie to enter.

As soon as Mark and Lexie showed up things got heated. Arizona had been furious and rightly so. She had really let it rip on Lexie whom she guessed was the instigator in this whole thing. Although she was convinced that Lexie was not the mastermind. Lexie however insisted on taking the blame which Callie found odd because she too had thought that someone else was the brains behind the outfit. So while Lexie cried in the hallway after being seriously scolded by Arizona and Mark quietly sat at the kitchen bench. Callie knew that Mark was aware of how wrong he was and that he was extremely sorry because he was never this quiet, EVER. As Arizona yelled at Lexie then turning to Mark and also Jackson, Callie noticed that she had skipped Owen but she didn't dare mention it. In fact Callie had not said a word since Mark had arrived, she knew better than to get involved at this point and quite frankly they all deserved every bit of venom that Arizona was spraying them with.

Owen had heroically brought Avery into the apartment which had allowed Lexie to slip in as well and close the door behind her. Owen sat Avery down on the coach whilst he and Callie took a look at his foot, Callie didn't think it was broken but it was a fairly bad sprain that would take a while to heal. Once they had elevated his leg and set him up with an ice pack he was then back in the ring, yelling accusations of snitching at Cristina and of favouritism at Arizona. Mark and Lexie were also pointing the snitch finger at Cristina, who again was not defending herself but simply began attacking the couple with her own views on the situation. Owen and Callie simply remained in the kitchen drinking the wine that Cristina had now abandoned as she took up her post next to Arizona.

It was strange seeing those two fighting on the same team. It was strange seeing Arizona fighting at all but the fact that her only ally was Cristina Yang was baffling to Callie and by the look on his face it seemed just as ridiculous to Owen. They had been yelling and screaming for a full half an hour when Callie had thought it was finally coming to a close. She should have known that she would never be that lucky. The group heard footsteps behind the closed door and they all went quiet. Callie was praising the heavens for the five seconds of silence as Arizona flung open the door to find none other than a pissed off Meredith Grey and a sheepish Shepherd skulking behind her.

"Oh well of course! Things wouldn't be complete unless we had your input now would it Grey?" Arizona was on a roll with the bitch thing tonight. If Callie wasn't so scared she would have been impressed. Meredith however looked straight passed Arizona and turned her fury onto Cristina. She was yet another one who was blaming Cristina for ruining their plans and getting them all in trouble.

"The things I told you were in confidence Cristina! And you go running to Arizona. What is she your person now?" Meredith was clearly angry and hurt by Cristina's apparent betrayal of trust but it just didn't seem right that it would be Cristina who had sold them all out, especially if it had been Meredith who had told her. Callie knew there was some kind of weird bonding thing going on between Arizona and Cristina but there was no way that Cristina would betray Meredith in favour of Arizona. It just would never happen and yet they were all so sure that it had.

"Her person? What the hell is that? Do you even speak English Grey?" Callie sometimes forgot that Arizona was new to this crazy family of doctors and she didn't always catch on to the quirky sayings they invented or the couplings that Seattle Grace had managed to form over the years.

"I'm not anybody's person. I'm my own person. I'm me. Arizona Victoria Robbins! And I won't be treated this way by a bunch of narcissistic half assed surgeons who care more about getting laid…" she shot a look at Mark.

"Getting Tequila" – looking right at Meredith.

"Or just simply getting something, anything for themselves" – scanning the room for everyone else.

Callie felt that Arizona's rant was finally starting to sink in because the room suddenly fell silent and they were all looking guiltily at their feet.

"You, I thought we were friends" Arizona's voice began to break as she addressed Lexie directly for the first time that night.

"Arizona, we are" Lexie tried to protest but there was no point, Arizona was not going to hear anything she had to say tonight and Callie wasn't sure if Arizona would ever be willing to listen to anything Lexie had to say again.

"I know it was you Lexie. I know it was you who found out about Brooke coming to Seattle for the surgery and instead of coming to me and talking to me about it, you manipulated me, you used me and worst of all you lied to me. We are not friends" Callie saw how hurt Arizona was as she stood there telling Lexie that they weren't friends; she also saw how upset and sorry Lexie was. Callie wasn't enjoying this at all.

"She's a 1st year resident, the chief has everyone freaking out about losing their jobs. She didn't know what to do Arizona" Mark was desperately trying to defend Lexie because he knew how much Lexie truly did consider Arizona a friend.

"Don't even get me started on you Mark! She's a 1st year resident, she practically a child. But you? You're an attending, head of department. You're supposed to be setting an example for these kids not worrying about whether they'll sleep with you or not" Mark bowed his head in shame as Arizona called him out on his mistakes, he knew she was right.

"And you. You're just as bad! Freakin' McDreamy. Whatever happened to McDoctor huh? No wonder the hospital is number 12. How could we possibly be any higher than that when our Attendings are too busy screwing the interns and residents to do their freakin' jobs? It's a teaching hospital people! And you know what you're teaching them? You're teaching them that it's ok to let your personal life interfere with your work, that it's ok to lose patients because we're all too freakin' busy being all McDreamy and McSteamy, or that dark and twisty is an acceptable bedside manner. Well you know what? IT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE! None of this is acceptable, not to me and it shouldn't be to you either"

Arizona's speech had left everyone truly speechless. There were no words left because she had just said them all. There was no way to defend it; they all knew it was the truth. They had spent far too many hours worrying about themselves, their partners and their friends and not enough time worrying about their patients or their duty as teachers. Callie felt ashamed of herself and as she looked around the room she could tell that this feeling of shame was one felt by all.

Arizona was the only person in this room who didn't need to feel shame. She was a great teacher, this whole mess had started because every person in the hospital wanted to work under her and learn from her. She always put her patients first, yes she was friendly and liked to chat in the hallways but nothing ever occupied her mind the way her patients did. She was kind of amazing in that way. Well no, she was amazing in every way but as a doctor, she was the best you could get.

As they all stood there dwelling in their own self hatred Callie noticed Arizona gathering her things from around the living room. At first Callie had thought that she had decided to take herself to bed after her very effective speech had silenced everyone, but then she realised that she was gathering her things to leave. Callie felt like she was going to be ill, she didn't want Arizona to leave. She wanted her to stay here and yell some more.

"What are you doing?" Callie spoke for the first time since this whole thing had erupted.

"I'm going home. I have an early start tomorrow. I need to get some sleep, I have patients who are counting on me" Arizona's voice was cold, it gave Callie shivers and not in a good way.

"You can't sleep here?" Callie's voice was breaking and she knew she was on the verge of tears. She was trying desperately not to cry.

"I want to sleep in my own bed" and right there, that one sentence had managed to crush Callie's soul and shatter her heart. Her own bed? How was it possible that Arizona didn't think that this bed here in Callie's room was her bed too?

"Arizona, please" Callie was pleading; she was ready to get down on her hands and knees and beg Arizona to stay with her, to sleep in their bed, because as far as Callie was concerned it was THEIR bed. Sure, Arizona doesn't technically live there but Arizona was the only person Callie ever wanted to share her bed with and the thought of sleeping alone was tearing her soul apart. Before Callie could say anymore Arizona was already on her way out the door but just as she reached for the door she turned back to the brunette and Callie's heart fluttered with hope that Arizona had changed her mind.

"Goodnight Calliope" Arizona whispered as she exited the apartment and closed the door behind her, and she was gone.

Callie couldn't breathe. She felt like the walls were closing in on her, it wasn't until she noticed that Mark and Owen had rushed to her side that she realised she was hyperventilating. They sat her down and Mark was rubbing her back and trying to sooth her with words she couldn't hear, all she could hear was the blood pulsing in her brain. Owen had rushed to get her some water and within ten minutes her breathing had begun to slow down and the voices around her seemed closer.

Once she had finally found a way to breathe normal again, she realised she just wanted to go to bed and forget that this day had ever happened.

"Cal, are you ok? Mark was still sitting next to her on the coach rubbing her back.

"I'm fine. I'm just going to go to bed" and with that she took herself to her room. She undressed and climbed into her bed, the bed that she knew she should be sharing with Arizona. She couldn't hold the tears in anymore, she began sobbing silently. She couldn't stop; she didn't think she would ever be able to stop until Arizona was back here safe in her arms, in their bed.

As she lay there with silent tears flowing down her cheeks she heard Mark and Lexie leave and she vaguely hears Meredith and Cristina begin yelling at each other again.

"The Chief is banning us all from doing anything without his permission. We're all on probation Cristina. I told you something in confidence and you go and get everyone put on probation! When you made out with Avery at the surprise party from hell I didn't go blabbing my mouth to the whole world did I?" Meredith stops in her tracks as they both become aware of the two other people in the room.

Huh? Made out with Avery? Uh oh! Callie was vaguely aware of what was going on and she knew there was going to be a loud explosion after the bomb Meredith had just dropped so she pulled the covers up over her head in hopes of drowning out their voices. Callie hears Owen chime in now.

"I'm sorry, you what?" Owen was furious. Callie could hear it in his voice. She also heard Cristina defend herself saying that it had been Avery who had taken himself into her bedroom and had kissed her. Owen however was not placated by this. Callie heard the front door open and close, which she assumed was Meredith and Derek leaving Cristina and Owen to kill each other. She heard them fighting for what seemed like hours. Cristina relaying the story of how Avery had kissed her and she had told him that she was involved. Callie knew Cristina was telling the truth but Owen was reluctant to believe her because the fact that she had hidden this from him had sent alarm bells ringing in his head. His reasoning was, 'why would someone innocent need to hide this or lie about it?' Cristina hit back with the fact that he hadn't told her that he and Teddy had a history. He seemed a little less confident once Cristina had brought up Teddy. Unlike the accusations Owen had screamed at her roommate, Callie could tell that Cristina had hit a nerve and there was definitely something more to her accusations about Teddy. More screaming ensued and then she heard Owen announce he was leaving.

"You know what, I'm done. I'm leaving. I'm not going to stand here and be accused of things when you're the one making out with Mercy Westers in your bedroom"

"Oh where are you going to go huh? You can't stay at your apartment when the place is flooded. You going to go to Teddy's? I don't think so. You stay here, I'll go!" and with that Callie heard the front door slam and the apartment was finally filled with silence.

Tears were still flowing freely down her face as she drifted off to sleep, without Arizona by her side for the first time in many weeks. It wasn't a good feeling; she didn't like this at all.

* * *

When she woke the next day at first she panicked because she thought she was late for work but then she remembered that she was doing the night shift tonight so she had the day off. Her head was aching, her eyes were puffy and her throat felt like it was on fire. She couldn't really remember a time when she felt worse than she did right now. Even back in the George and Izzie days she hadn't felt this bad. She had been broken and a general feeling of crapiness surrounded her but when she was honest with herself she knew that it would end that way, George never truly loved her, she had always known that but chose to ignore it and marry him anyway. She couldn't have changed how that ended. This situation was different, Arizona did love her and she was always there for her, even when she was grieving for the dead ex-husband who broke her heart. Even when Callie's father had tried to disinfect her from Callie's life, Arizona stood strong for her. Nothing was ever too much for Arizona, her love was unconditional. Or was it? Had Callie really blown it here? Had she let the best thing that had ever happened to her slip through her fingers all because she wasn't paying enough attention?

The questions that Callie had about last night were endless. She had never felt so hopeless in her life. She needed to speak to Arizona to hear her voice; it was the only way she was going to be able to pull herself together enough to get out of bed. She reached for her cell phone sitting on the dresser beside her bed and she dialled the number that was engraved in her brain. Now, all she had to do was wait for Arizona to pick it up.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

**ARIZONA**

It had been three days since what Arizona was calling 'the big blowout', three days since she had yelled at all of her so called friends and her girlfriend. Callie had called a number of times over the past three days but for some reason Arizona just really didn't feel like talking to her. She knew that Callie would say she was sorry and that she loved her and she would mean what she said but right now Arizona was just too angry to listen to those words.

Callie had called her cell the morning after the big blowout but Arizona was already at the hospital going over details of the surgery with Brooke, Teddy, Bailey, Cristina and the Chief in her office. The Chief was pacing the room as he listened to Brooke and Teddy debating the intricacies of the complicated procedure. It frustrated Arizona to no end to see that the Chief was so nervous; she knew that he was worrying about how the hospital would look if this procedure failed instead of being concerned for the health of the children and their mother. It made Arizona feel sick to think that there was a high probability that one or both of these babies were going to die, not to mention the strain the initial surgery was going to have on the mother's body if we went with Brooke's plan to begin things with an in vitro procedure.

If it hadn't been for the Chief escalating her already terrible mood she may have answered the phone when Callie called but instead she hit reject and then switched her phone off. She knew she had to face Callie at some point and she would, but right now there were more important things to worry about. She had a family's entire world in her hands and she wasn't going to allow her personal issues with her girlfriend or her friends or her colleagues get in the way of bringing joy to the Hudson family. Arizona Robbins was a doctor first and foremost. Everything else would have to take a back seat for now.

Arizona could feel her sister's eyes burning a hole in her but she refused to make any sort of eye contact because if there was one person in this world who could see right through her, it was Brooke. After about an hour or so the Chief had all but worn a hole in the floor with his pacing and decided to take himself off to his office to do God knows what. Arizona didn't care what he was doing as long as he wasn't doing it anywhere near her. She couldn't explain it, she didn't even know where this feeling had come from but she was immensely angry at the Chief. She resented his treatment of Callie after George's death, she was completely unimpressed with his ability to control his doctors and what was worse than anything was the fact that she had now lost the respect she once had for him. She felt that he simply didn't care that his doctors were running riot, that patients were being turned away because the hospital was making budget cuts and because of this Arizona felt no reason to respect him so she just stopped.

She spent the rest of the day doing research with Brooke and Cristina, leaving them to their own devices when her shift started. It was obvious that Brooke and Cristina were going to work very well together. There was something so similar about them, yes they were both gifted surgeons but it was something more than that. They had a drive, a need to succeed and to be the very best. Failure was not an option to them. The entire time the group of surgeons were discussing the situation neither Brooke nor Cristina even entertained the idea of failure. They were both confident beyond belief in their abilities and there was a ruthlessness within them that put Arizona at ease. With those two on the case the chances of failure were all but depleted.

When she had finally started her shift she knew that she had back to back surgeries all night, so she was confident she would run into Callie. As she walked the hallways she noticed everyone in the vicinity scatter to a faraway place. The people who had no choice but to speak with her did so without making eye contact and spoke only in whispers. Arizona wasn't sure how much more of this she could handle.

Her shift had flown by and before she knew it she was in the Attendings locker room changing out of her scrubs when she heard someone storm in and throw something down on the seat next to her with a loud thud. She could see who it was because she was in the middle of taking her scrub top off, however she did turn her body towards the noise so whoever it was had gotten a bullseye view of her in her hot pink bra. She stood there frozen for a few seconds not really knowing what to do and then she heard a familiar voice and was able to relax.

"Can I crash at your place again tonight?" Cristina casually asks Arizona.

"Have you still not talked to Owen?" Arizona had now removed her shirt completely and was searching her cubby for something clean to put on; she was yet to even look in the surly Residents direction. Cristina was also now searching through the enormous bag that she had thrown on the bench when she walked in. She too had decided to change out of her scrubs before leaving the hospital.

"Have you spoken to Callie?" Cristina shot back accusingly as the pair continued their search for something to put on. Arizona turned to look at Cristina for the first time since she had entered the locker room, now holding what she hoped was a clean shirt.

"Yeah sure you can fight Brooke for the spare room" just as she says this Brooke saunters into the room raising an eyebrow at the two half naked women. Cristina was now also without her scrub top but neither she nor Arizona seemed fazed by this.

"Whoa! It's a party in here" Brooke grinned at the pair mischievously and for the first time that day Arizona looked right at her sister, she couldn't put into words how happy she was to have Brooke here.

"I'm guessing Callie's not hiding under the bench here" Brooke said sarcastically as she pretended to look under the seat that Arizona and Cristina had now sat down on. Arizona shot her sister a reprimanding 'I don't want to talk about it' look and luckily for all involved Brooke had decided to drop it. For now. The blonde knew that she wouldn't escape her younger sister's questions for much longer so she basked in the silence as her and Cristina got ready and the three of them exited the hospital together.

"Who feels like a drink?" both Arizona and Cristina raised their hands solemnly in response to Brooke's questions and the three of them headed across the road to Joes. Upon reaching the door to the bar that was a token staple of hospital life at Seattle Grace Mercy West Arizona stopped dead in her tracks. Brooke and Cristina who were following close behind her had to peer through the door to see what was causing Arizona to halt. Brooke had absolutely no idea what she was even looking for but Cristina took a step back as soon as she saw Owen and Callie sitting silently at the bar.

"Tell me you have tequila at your place" Cristina looked over at Arizona pleadingly.

"Yep. Let's go!" Arizona grabbed hold of both Cristina and Brooke but she was met with resistance as she tried to pull them away from the bar. Brooke was struggling to free her arm from Arizona's grasp. Cristina had noticed this but decided not to stick around to find out why, she began walking ahead of them.

"What are you doing?" Arizona was becoming impatient with Brooke by this point. She just wanted to get out of there before Callie spotted her or she had to come into contact with anyone else she worked with. She should have known that Joes would be a bad idea and she was kicking herself for even contemplating it.

"I'm going to stay here for a bit. Get to know some people. Flesh out the bad seeds" Brooke flashed the Robbins family dimples.

"They're all bad seeds trust me" Arizona said grumpily. She was getting cold and she didn't bring a jacket. Standing her debating this with her sister was putting her in a worse mood than before, if that were even possible. The look that she received from her younger sister told her that she would be staying here at Joes so she didn't fight it. She couldn't be bothered.

"Fine, whatever. You'll have to get a cab back to my place" Arizona threw her hands up in the air and began walking away but as she turned her back Brooke grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in to a tight embrace. Arizona felt herself relax in her sister's arms. This wasn't usually how their relationship worked, Brooke was generally the over emotional sibling who needed consoling and Arizona was always the big sister on standby for hugs and longs speeches. Arizona instantly felt some strength return to her as her sister squeezed her tightly.

"Everything's going to work out" Brooke always knew exactly what to say. She had a knack with words; she was definitely the charmer in the family and she couldn't help but smile. Oh how Arizona wished that Brooke's stay in Seattle was more permanent, she really could do with having her best friend around more often. Brooke finally released Arizona after what felt like an eternity, Arizona took this opportunity to flash her baby sister a small smile of appreciation and turn on her heels, as she did she felt a sharp slap on her ass and she swung back around to see Brooke grinning at her like an idiot.

"I love you Zone" was all Brooke said as Arizona shot her a reprimanding look for her inappropriate behaviour. Although she was trying to be mad, she never really could be mad with the younger blonde, she was just so… Brooke!

"I love you too. Behave!" Arizona pointed a finger at her sister as she blew her a kiss and ran into the bar like a kid running into a candy store. Arizona shook her head laughing as she quickened her pace up the street to catch up with Cristina who was waiting for her. Suddenly they heard the bar door swing back open and someone yelling up the street at them.

"HEY YANG, my sister better still be alive when I get home" Brooke was yelling from the doorway of the bar. She decided to go back inside when Cristina had dismissed her comments with the wave of her hand and both Arizona and Cristina continued the walk to Arizona's car.

* * *

Barely two hours later Arizona and Cristina were onto their second bottle of tequila, they had stopped off for another bottle on the way to the apartment just in case. They had sprawled themselves out on the floor in Arizona's apartment and were throwing peanuts into each other's mouths in between shots.

"These peanuts are not very filling Cristina" Arizona was slurring her words as she threw a peanut in Cristina's general direction but there was no way it was ever going to get in her mouth. The reason the peanuts weren't helping with their hunger was probably because there were more on the floor, scattered around the entire apartment than what they had actually eaten.

"Okay, let's call pizza" Cristina suggested helpfully, trying to get up to find the phone as she stumbled to her feet Arizona began giggling hysterically which happened to be one of her many tell tale signs of drunkenness. Hysterical giggling and horniness were the main staples of Arizona's drinking but since she had no girlfriend here to sate this particular symptom of inebriation the giggling had taken centre stage.

"The number for the twenty four hours place I son the fridge" she managed to get out through her laughing. Cristina made her way to the kitchen, grabbing the phone of the bench on her way, she found the number and began dialling.

"You're stupid phone doesn't work" Cristina grumbled pelting the phone across the apartment at Arizona.

"Oh yeah, I had it cut off. I never use it so I just cut it off. Wait I'll get my cell. Where is it? It's in my bag" Arizona crawled her way over to the dining room table and began digging around in her purse for her cell phone. She was having extreme difficulty finding it as it was dark since they hadn't bothered to turn any of the lights on, they had simple but a lamp on in the living room and thought that was enough. Cristina being so impatient strode over to Arizona, grabbed the purse and tipped it upside down letting everything that was inside it fall onto the floor. Arizona barely reacted as the entire contents of her purse tumbled down on top of her. The cell they had been searching for had conveniently fallen into her lap and as she took a look at it she realised that it had been switched off all day. She remembered Callie calling this morning and in her bid not to deal with things she had switched off her phone. She got busy after that and simply forgot to switch it back on, she knew she was being a jerk and she should have called Callie back. In all honesty she had meant to but simply forgot once her day had gotten busy.

As she struggled to find the on button she heard Cristina scrounging around in her own purse clearly too impatient to wait for Arizona she began dialling the number for the pizza place with her own phone. As Arizona's mobile shot back to life with a small musical number and a lot of bright light she noticed that she had Twenty seven missed calls, three voicemail messages and five texts.

Seventeen of those missed calls were from Callie's cell, three from Mark's, four from the phone down in the pit; two from an unknown number which she guessed would be a pay phone and one from Owen's phone. The last one was from only twenty minutes earlier, she guessed that Callie was still down at Joes and had borrowed Owen's phone to call her. That little trick probably would have worked if her phone had been on. Owen was one of the very few people Arizona wasn't mad at. It was actually him who had informed her of the grand plan put in place by the other doctors on the staff.

Owen and Teddy had been in on the surgery plans from the beginning, she needed Teddy to be involved as she was the new Head of Cardio and she had told Owen about Brooke's impending arrival on one of their morning jogs a few weeks ago. Everything had happened fairly quickly and until a few days ago she wasn't one hundred percent sure the surgery was going to take place here in Seattle, but due the huge donation the PEDS department had received a not too long ago Seattle was indeed the hospital chosen.

While Cristina called for pizza Arizona checked her voicemail. The first message was from her dad checking that Brooke had arrived safely. It was so typical of Brooke to have not even thought to call her parents. She made a mental note to call her parents in the morning. The second voice message was just lots of noise and the third one was from Callie. Arizona's heart soared at the sound of the brunette's voice and then it shattered into a million pieces when she heard the pain in Callie's voice.

"Arizona, it's me. I know you're mad but I just need to know that you're okay. Please call me and let me know you're okay or come over to my place. I love you"

Callie's message brought all the emotions of the past two days crashing down on her. She felt hopeless and alone. She felt guilty for being so hard on Callie yet she needed her girlfriend to chase her for once, she couldn't be the one to make this better she just couldn't. Arizona just hoped that Callie would actually fight for their relationship, what was upsetting Arizona the most was the resign in Callie's voice in that message. It was almost as if she had given up.

The tequila was clouding her mind by this point as she read the five texts from her girlfriend. All of the texts from Callie had said how sorry she was and how she wanted Arizona to call her. Just as she was replacing her phone on the coffee table she heard her phone buzz with a text message. It was another one from Callie.

_My heart beats for you Arizona, always _

_Only for you, forever! _

_Please call me. I love you – Cal_

Callie seemed genuine in her attempts to make things right with her love, so right then and there Arizona had decided that if Callie wanted to make things right, she was going to let her try. She replied to her text.

_I love you too Calliope._

_More than you know – A xoxo_

* * *

But now as Arizona sat in her office going over her paperwork for the day she looked at her watch and realised that it had been a full twenty seven hours since she had sent that text and she had not heard one word from Callie. She wasn't sad and falling apart anymore, she had moved past that and was now feeling an angry coldness encasing her body. As she looked over to the group of doctors huddled in the corner of her office she suddenly felt re-energised and the adrenaline from realising how well the planning of this surgery was going finally hit her.

She had spent the past three days hiding in her office like it was her who had done something wrong, like she was punishing herself for allowing the other doctors in the hospital to hurt her feelings and wound her pride. Well, she wasn't going to hide anymore. She knew how talented she was, she knew how much she had to offer this hospital and she knew the knowledge she had to offer the junior doctors was immense but at some point over the past three days she had forgotten just how good a doctor she really was.

Callie not contacting her had all but broken her. She was sure that Callie would fight for her, for them. She was wrong. Callie hadn't fought for them, she had perhaps decided that it wasn't worth the effort but Arizona refused to let Callie strip her of her sparkle. Arizona Robbins will stand tall, with or without Calliope Torres, but Arizona being the eternal optimist she still held out hope that Callie would fight for them.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

**ARIZONA**

It was almost 8am and as Arizona's shift was coming to an end she did one last round of her patients, making sure they were all doing fine before she headed to the locker room to change and go home. Cristina Yang had been staying at her place for days now and it was strange because Arizona really didn't seem to mind having the surly resident around all the time. She guessed it was probably because she was so used to seeing her all the time at Callie's place. Cristina wasn't one to make small talk or senseless chit-chat. If she had something to say she said it and if not, well let's just say they sat in silence a lot, except when Brooke would get home and then the three of them would sit around drinking wine and discussing the upcoming surgery for hours on end. This whole surgery thing was really helping to keep Arizona's mind off the fact that Callie was still M.I.A since their fight the other night. Arizona didn't know what her problem was but it was really starting to piss her off.

The last patient Arizona had to check on was Rachel Hudson, the mother of the conjoined twins. As she walked into the biggest room in the hospital and noticed that it had now been nicely decorated, there were flowers everywhere and she saw that Lexie was checking Rachel's vitals. Over the past few days Lexie had tried numerous times to speak with Arizona but she kept getting shut down. Arizona wasn't ready to speak to her, she was hurt and betrayed but she still deeply cared for Lexie and didn't want to say anything that she would later regret.

Lexie looked up from her chart as the perky blonde entered the room. She had a look of what Arizona thought to be relief wash over her face as Arizona gave her a small yet significant smile. Rachel Hudson was sitting up in her bed playing Jenga with a cranky Cristina, who was hiding in the corner of the room. Arizona hadn't even noticed her when she had first entered the room. She could barely see her even now, as she was lent up against the back wall holding up the medical journal. She was clearly immersed in whatever it was that she was reading because she hadn't even looked up when Arizona came striding in.

Arizona couldn't help but let out a small giggle when Rachel poked Cristina in the arm to let her know it was her turn. Cristina casually lowered the journal and pulled out a Jenga piece from the Jenga tower with ease and precision, she threw the piece on the couch beside her and went back to reading.

"How do you do that?" Rachel said staring at Cristina in awe.

"Hands of a Godly surgeon right here!" Cristina raised her right hand in the air and wiggled her dexterous fingers in Rachel's direction.

"Either that or she played too much Jenga as a kid. How are you feeling Rachel?" Arizona smiled her brightest smile, dimples and all. She hadn't smiled that hard in days and the sensation that came across her lips felt slightly awkward. She also didn't fail to notice how Cristina jumped at the sound of her voice and straightened herself up, looking professional and focused. Another smile spread across Arizona's face when she realised that Cristina Yang was trying to impress her.

Outside the hospital Arizona found Cristina to be grouchy and generally uninterested in anything she had to say that was non-surgical but here, in the hospital the eager resident hung on her every word. Cristina listened intently, asked far too many questions and always made herself available for even the smallest of duties. Cristina had come to Arizona weeks ago and simply asked for the opportunity to be considered. She wanted to be given a role in one of the teams being put together for this miraculous surgery and Arizona had obliged her but she had not given Cristina any confirmation that she would be given a spot on the team. Of course Arizona knew that she most definitely would be giving her a spot on the team, she was even seriously considering allowing Cristina to head her own team.

However, Cristina was completely unaware of this and for now she would remain in the dark about the PEDS surgeon's plans for her. Right now, Arizona was having too much fun watching Cristina constantly trying to outdo herself and impress. Arizona would never admit to this because up until a few weeks ago she hadn't really liked Cristina at all, but she had known she would be working with Cristina on this from the very beginning. Everybody around here knows that Cristina's the best resident at Seattle Grace Mercy West; if you were going to trust a resident with your life or your child's life you would most definitely want it to be Cristina Yang. The fact that Cristina had come straight to Arizona when she found out about the surgery instead of concocting ridiculous plans to manipulate her was something that made Arizona respect her as a colleague and had laid a solid foundation for a great working relationship between them.

"Good morning Dr. Robbins! Mrs. Hudson's vitals are all normal, the babies are doing great, I found a slight fetal arrhythmia this morning and I administered Digoxin and Sobatol but I've been monitoring them all day and everything seems to be back to normal"

"Good job Dr. Yang. Everything okay on your end Dr. Grey?" Arizona spoke to Lexie without looking directly at her; instead she was smiling brightly at her very pregnant patient.

"Yes Dr. Robbins" Lexie was fidgeting with the chart in her hands and Arizona knew she was desperately trying to make eye contact with her. She liked Lexie she really did but she just couldn't deal with her right now, she needed to focus on this case and the only way to do that was to shut off her emotions and personal entanglements that had made her feel so damn horrible in the first place.

"Ok then, it looks like you're in good hands so I'm going to head home for a few hours. I'll be back in this afternoon to check on you. Brooke and I have to go over some things with you" Arizona noticed both Lexie and Cristina take on ridged stances as they nervously waited for Arizona to say more about the surgery. She didn't.

Arizona gently squeezed Rachel's hand comfortingly before turning on her heels and moving towards the door, her heart sank as she felt Lexie gliding up behind her.

"Arizona can I.." –

"Not now Lexie. I'm tired and to be honest I can't forgive you yet. I need time" and with that last statement Arizona walked away leaving Lexie standing there staring off after her.

* * *

Arizona had stopped by the grocery store on her way home because she needed to pick up a few things. That was an understatement; she needed to pick up a lot of things. Since she had been dating Callie she rarely ever ate in her apartment and she couldn't remember the last time the fridge was stocked with anything but fruit and beer. Now that Brooke had taken up residence in her spare room and Cristina was living on her couch she figured they would need to eat at some point.

Just as she arrived at the apartment she saw Brooke coming back from the gym. She called her over to help her bring the groceries in. as they carried the large amounts of food into the elevator and eventually into Arizona's apartment; the blonde noticed something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it but something had been done to her place, she walked around the living room and into the kitchen searching for the answer. Then suddenly she heard a muffled noise coming from her bedroom. The door was closed which was weird because she had distinctly remembered leaving it open in her rush to get to work on time last night.

Brooke was now staring at her with a bemused look on her face as she watched Arizona creep over to her bedroom and press her ear to the door. Arizona didn't know what to do or think when she heard music coming from inside her room. She motioned Brooke over to listen.

"Is that… Mariah Carey?!" Arizona kicked Brooke in the shins for being too loud. How could she be hollering like that? When in all likely hood she had just alerted the burglar that was ransacking her room no less, of their arrival. Arizona was horrified that someone was in her room going through her things and touching her Mariah Carey collection. Brooke was rolling her eyes in Arizona's collection clearly not worried that there might be a crazed psychopath about to charge out that door and kill them both.

"There's someone in my room" Arizona was trying to remain calm but she wanted Brooke to see the seriousness of this situation.

"Arizona, you probably just left your radio on last night. What sort of robber listens to Mariah Carey?" Arizona could tell that Brooke was finding this whole thing to be quite amusing but she couldn't believe it when Brooke simply shook her head, smiled with the Robbins family dimples showing and just walked away. Arizona knew she had to choice but to open the door quickly before Brooke got too far away from her, she reached out her hand and flung the door open forcefully. She saw Brooke jump and return to her side as the door hit the wall with a loud bang.

Arizona had expected to find a crazed man ransacking her drawers or something but instead she found something far more shocking. NOTHING!

As she peered into her room there was no one there, it was completely empty. Not only was the room empty of any human life it was also empty of any furniture that had previously been there.

"Dude, where's your bed?" Brooke stuttered, shock taking control of her body.

Arizona cautiously walked into her room and as she took a good look around she realised that her room was bare. There was not one piece of furniture left in there, everything had been removed. The two sisters stood there in the middle or Arizona's empty room staring at each other in silence, occasionally glancing around the room half expecting the furniture to reappear. Then they heard the CD player churn as the song that had been playing started again. They turned their attention towards the noise and noticed the small pink CD player in the far corner of the room. They listened intently as the song that had been placed on repeat began again.

_No I can't forget this evening _

_Or your face as you were leaving_

_But I guess that's just the way the story goes_

_You always smile but in your eyes_

_You sorrow shows, yes it shows_

Arizona felt her heart stop as she listened to the words of the most beautiful song she had ever heard by her favourite artist in the world. The minute she had walked into her apartment she had felt it, she didn't realise it at the time but she had known that something had disrupted her things, someone had been among her possessions and they felt changed yet none of them had been moved. She took herself over to the CD player and lying next to it was a photo of her and Callie.

_No I can't forget tomorrow_

_When I think of all my sorrow_

_When I had you there but then _

_I let you go_

_And now it's only fair that I should_

_Let you know, what you should know_

She had never seen this photo before; it was of them at Joes. She knew exactly when this was taken although she didn't remember posing for it. It was the night Callie had gotten her job back and become an Attending at Seattle Grace Mercy West. They had gone to Joes to celebrate at the insistence of Mark and Lexie. It had been a great night; they laughed and drank beer with their friends. Callie had challenged Mark to a game of darts; he lost of course and was forced to sing Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' wearing a dress that Joe conveniently had hidden behind the bar. Why the dress was there was a whole other story that Arizona was too afraid to ask about. It had been quite the site watching Mark 'man-whore' Sloan singing karaoke wearing a dress. If she had to guess she would say this photo was taken somewhere between the karaoke and the 'Coyote Ugly' style bar dancing performed by herself, Lexie, Cristina and Meredith.

_I can't live_

_If living is without you_

_I can't live_

_I can't give anymore_

_I can't live_

_If living is without you_

_I can't give_

_I can't give anymore_

Callie hadn't wanted to stay much longer after the bar dancing, Arizona had thought she was mad at her for getting so crazy but when they got back to Callie's it had been exactly the opposite. Callie couldn't keep her hands off her; she barely waited until they got in the door before she began ridding Arizona of her clothes and kissing her neck in a way that made the blonde's knees go weak. That night had been the best sex Arizona had ever had. Well until the next night and then the next night after that. Basically the night this photo was taken was the night Arizona felt their souls connect. As Arizona sat in silence listening to the words of the song that was breaking her heart she felt Brooke shaking her.

"Arizona, what's going on? Where the hell is your bed? All of your furniture?" Brooke was starting to freak out and that was the last thing Arizona needed.

"Callie" was all Arizona could manage to say as the words of the songs swirled around in the deepest depths of her soul, where her love for Callie resides.

"Callie took your bed?" Brooke was utterly baffled and becoming immensely frustrated with Arizona's odd behaviour but Arizona didn't care all she could think about was this song and Callie. Brooke began shaking her again.

_No I can't forget this evening _

_Or your face as you were leaving_

_But I guess that's just the way the story goes_

_You always smile but in your eyes_

_You sorrow shows, yes it shows_

"Arizona? You're saying Callie stole your bed?"

"Yes. No, I don't know. She can't live without me Brooke. She loves me" Arizona was pretty much talking to herself at this point. She began stuttering to herself about the song and Callie stepping up. This was the sign she needed, she wanted Callie to prove to her that she wanted her, that she needed her and she didn't know how a song could do that but somehow it just did.

"Okay so Callie loves you. What the hell does that have to do with your bed Arizona?" Brooke was seriously not letting the bed thing go. Since she had heard the first words of the song and found that photo she hadn't given another thought to her empty room. She couldn't care less who took her bed.

"I have no idea. And I don't care because she can't live without me. She can't LIVE without me Brooke" Arizona had decided that she couldn't just sit there any longer; she had to go to her. She needed to see Callie and to hear her say that it was true. She got up off the floor of her completely empty bedroom and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Brooke threw her arms up in the air following Arizona into the lounge room. Arizona knew she would need to explain all of this to Brooke but that would have to wait because right now all she could think of was getting to Callie.

"I have to see Callie" she yelled over her shoulder to her sister as she grabbed her bag and ran out the door, then dashed into the elevator.

Brooke was left standing in the hallway watching the doors to the elevator begin to close.

"Oh I'll just wait here for your bed to wander on home shall I? Was the last thing Arizona heard her sister say before the doors shut and she was on her way to find Callie.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

**ARIZONA**

Arizona managed to make it to Callie's apartment in six minutes. It usually took her over 15 minutes to get from her place to Callie's apartment, she was generally a cautious driver but today she was speeding and running red lights. Ok, they weren't red but they were definitely amber. Never in her life had she been more nervous, the anticipation of seeing Callie was making her sweat, something she only ever allowed herself to do whilst jogging. She whizzed past cars doing the speed limit and had to swerve out of the way of at least two pedestrians. She had become one of those people she hated, one of those people who drove recklessly and without care. This however, was the last thing on her mind.

When Arizona arrived at Callie's apartment she suddenly realised that her gorgeous girlfriend may not be at home. It was still fairly early in the morning and she wasn't sure if Callie was at work or not, so she used her key and let herself in. The place was a mess and it looked like Callie hadn't cleaned up in days. There were clothes scattered all over the floor, dishes in the sink, cups sitting in the living room and the TV was on. As she scanned the apartment for signs of life she was startled by Owen rushing out of Cristina's bedroom looking dishevelled, he was clearly running late.

"Oh hey, Callie's in the shower. I'm so late. I'll see you later" Owen was out the door in flash, Arizona didn't even have time to answer him.

As she heard the door slam shut and silence once again filled the apartment she heard the shower running. As she got closer to the bathroom door she was finding it harder to breath. Knowing that Callie was behind that door naked was paralysing all of her senses. Arizona took a deep breath and pushed open the door silently, she should have taken another moment to steady herself before entering the bathroom because when she laid eyes on the luscious brunette she felt dizzy. The scent of her body wash combined with the smell of her peppermint shampoo was intoxicating and the fact that Callie was softly humming to herself was driving Arizona crazy. She loved it went Callie would hum away like this, it was something the brunette only did in the shower or in bed as she held Arizona after one of her nightmares. It comforted her and Callie knew it.

Callie still hadn't realised that Arizona was watching her as she stood there revelling in the feel of the hot stream running over her shoulders and back. She had just filled her cloth with body gel when Arizona slipped into the shower with her, so silently that Callie felt her behind her rather than heard her.

"Here, let me help you with that" Arizona whispered in Callie's ear while she snaked her arm in front of Callie to take the cloth. Callie didn't move but Arizona could feel her lover's body tense as she took the soap soaked cloth and ran both of her hands across Callie's breasts, lathering up the fragrant liquid and creating a slick path. She dropped the fabric and pressed the full length of her body up against Callie's back as her hands continued massaging the soapy breasts in lazy and loving circles. Callie moaned softly and lent back relaxing into Arizona's body, concentrating on the feel of her lover's breasts and body fused to her back. Arizona began to lightly pinch the erect nipples as she kissed her way up to Callie's neck, sucking the salty skin into her mouth until it made a mark.

"Hey you" breathed Callie while throwing her head back and lifting her arms behind her to touch Arizona's blonde locks, making her breasts jut out just a bit more. This was the sexiest thing in the entire world to Arizona; she couldn't believe how aroused she was already. Nothing could turn her on the way Callie did. Sometimes just the mention of her girlfriend's name would give her hot flushes; this was extremely embarrassing at work.

"Hi baby" Arizona whispered in Callie's ear as she brought one hand down to draw tiny circles on Callie's stomach, while the other continued the torturously slow manipulations of her nipples.

"You're so beautiful" the blonde knew that Callie could hear the lust in her voice as she started to move her hand down closer to Callie's legs. Suddenly Callie turned and roughly pinned Arizona against the shower wall. Arizona knew that was going to create a nasty bruise but she didn't care, she needed Callie and the passion building between them was unstoppable. Callie was looking at her with a number of emotions Arizona recognised: hurt, anger, fear, lust but the one that made Arizona's heart ache was the look of love Callie had in her eyes. Arizona knew that these were the eyes she wanted to have looking at her for the rest of her life.

"Don't ever do that to me again" Callie was now grabbing Arizona's face and forcefully pulling it closer to her own.

"I'm sorry" was all Arizona could manage. She knew she had seriously overreacted but at the same time she needed Callie to prove her love for her, it had always been Arizona making all the first moves and taking their relationship to new levels. It was Callie's turn to set the pace of their relationship and right now Arizona was extremely happy with the path Callie had chosen for them.

"I'm serious Arizona. I can't live without you. I can't breathe without you. Losing you would actually kill me" Callie was almost sobbing at this point but she still had Arizona pinned hard up against the shower wall and was holding onto the blonde's head so that she couldn't look away from her. Arizona could feel Callie's eyes looking right into her soul.

"You're never going to lose me. I love you" Arizona's heart was breaking to think that she had caused Callie this much pain. She hadn't really realised that Callie felt this strongly about her but it made her heart sing to finally know that she did.

"You promise?" Callie's question was more of a pleading statement than anything else.

"I promise" Arizona felt Callie pull her in roughly with both hands and she began kissing her deeply. She felt Callie's tongue plunging into her mouth over and over again. Arizona responded to this attack by forcing her thigh in between Callie's mocha legs and applying pressure to the raven haired beauty's centre. The pale and dark legs intertwined and created a strong vine that helped them both to remain standing.

Callie is so aroused that Arizona feels her grind into the thigh that has been strategically placed between her legs. Callie moves her hands down Arizona's arms to the front of her body where she cups her lover's breasts, Arizona's mind was spinning and she couldn't think straight. She moans softly as Callie bites her neck just enough to mark her. Arizona is not generally very loud during the love making process, she wasn't one of those women who screamed and carried on. She had never felt the need to make such a ridiculous fuss as she thought that pleasure could be felt without screeching like a banshee. Callie was the loud one out of the two of them, although she wasn't really a screamer but she did like to talk sometimes which Arizona had initially found odd but now she really loved it. The talking while making love was one of the things she loved most about Callie.

Arizona bites down on Callie's shoulder as she suppresses another deep moan caused by the sensation of Callie squeezing her nipple and sucking on her neck. Arizona notices that Callie's breathing is ragged; she's losing control of herself but gaining control of the lusty blonde before her. This was no power struggle. Arizona would let her have the power any time she wanted it.

She can't take it anymore, she came here to apologise and show Callie how much she needs her. Arizona turns them around suddenly, and the power shifts once again with Callie now up against the wall. She grabs Callie's face and kisses her hungrily and she feels Callie melt into her. Now she knows the brunette has relinquished every ounce of control.

* * *

**CALLIE**

Callie woke up to find herself at the foot of her large bed. It took her a moment to adjust to the settings around her and when she did she noticed the blonde mass of curls lying next to her. Arizona was one of those people who liked their own space to sleep, she had managed to untangle herself from Callie during their slumber and she was now spread out on her stomach facing the door. As Callie slowly and silently slid over towards her girlfriend and propped herself up on one of her arms, she leant over the beautiful body lying next to her. She had to brush away some unruly curls to see the face of the woman she loved but Arizona looked like an angel and as far as Callie was concerned there was nothing in this world that could compare to the beauty that was Arizona Robbins. The blonde rolled over onto her back almost on cue, Callie had to stifle a gasp as Arizona's gorgeous body was now exposed to her.

She was back. Callie finally had her back and she had never been happier. The more she watched Arizona's chest rise and fall with her breathing, the more aroused Callie became. She was close enough to feel the warmth radiate from Arizona's body yet not close enough to actually touch her. She struggled to control the impure thoughts that over took her. She knew that she should let Arizona sleep because she knew the blonde had to be back at the hospital at some point this afternoon but Callie had spent the past three days not being able touch her girlfriend and she wanted to make up for it now. Callie lifted her hand and reached for a lock of golden hair that was draped over Arizona's shoulder. She let the curls wrap around her fingers as she slid them through the strand. She brought her face in close and brushed her nose against the smooth hair, smelling her fruity shampoo. Then without warning Callie exhaled her request, she couldn't help it.

"I need you soooooo much" Callie closed her eyes as she let go of Arizona's hair and snaked her hand under the blanket.

Arizona had been in a rather deep sleep, Callie knew that this was rare for her and she felt bad but she just couldn't control herself. She felt Arizona stir and struggle to pull the blanket up, as Callie began gently rubbing circles on Arizona's smooth stomach and she smiled to herself as she felt the blonde begin to wake but before Arizona could turn her head the brunette's lips were inches from her ear and once again she made her wishes known.

"Baby, make love to me" Callie's voice was sultry and raw. It wasn't so much a request or plea, but a command.

Callie knew that Arizona was fatigued and the only thing she wanted to embrace was the down pillows that adorned the bed but she had to try. Callie watched as Arizona turned her head slightly and spoke.

"Calliope… I'm sleeping, later ok baby?" Callie felt Arizona touch her cheek gently and she knew that she should give up now and let her girlfriend sleep but she persisted anyway.

"Ari, I can't wait until later. I'm horny now!" Callie knew she was whining which seemed unfair due to the amazing performance Arizona had given a few hours earlier, but Callie knew that Arizona was the only one who could make this painful ache go away. Callie was determined to make Arizona as hot as she was right now. She took Arizona's earlobe between her teeth and traced the edge of it with her warm, wet tongue.

Arizona pulled away and turned over, facing away from Callie once again. Callie was refusing to give up as she draped her arm around Arizona's waist and let her hand draw circles on the blonde's abdomen.

"Arizona, I can't sleep. I haven't been able to sleep in days. I know that if we have sex I'll finally be able to sleep" Callie placed small kisses on Arizona's neck.

"Calliope, we just had sex. TWICE! No go to sleep" Arizona was putting on her best school teacher voice which was only making Callie want her more.

"Fine. I'm going to the hospital then" Callie was hoping that Arizona wasn't going to call her bluff as she stumbled out of bed and began searching the room for her clothing. Much to her delight she noticed Arizona open one eye, pretending not to be worried that Callie would really leave. As Callie began heading towards the bedroom door she felt a strong arm grab her wrist and pull her back onto the bed. Arizona was laughing loudly as Callie fell onto the bed very ungracefully.

"You didn't really think I wanted to sleep did you?" Callie started laughing too now, realising that Arizona had simply been teasing her all along. They laughed until they cried as Callie tickled Arizona and watched her squirm and scramble to the other side of the bed.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

So much amazing sex had been had today already and it wasn't over yet as Arizona felt Callie sliding down her body to her centre. Arizona feels Callie begin licking her thigh and gently nibbling the skin, she knew that she was going to be covered in love bites, she didn't care she just hoped that no one would see them. Arizona knew she was wet and she was sure that Callie could smell her scent because she felt her pause and take in the sight and smell of the blonde's most private region. She kisses one of Arizona's lips softly and then the other, lightly licking both lips and grazing her teeth against them. Arizona's breathing is hitched and she notices Callie look up to see her watching with her eyes semi-closed, she was trying so hard to keep them open because nothing turn her on more than to see Callie working on her like this. Callie continues to alternate from sucking and licking Arizona's thigh, to licking and nibbling her moist centre. She can't stop her hips from moving upwards to make contact with Callie's tongue where she needs it most, but Callie resists. Finally, Arizona can't take any more teasing.

"Callie. Please!"

That seemed to be all Callie needed to hear as suddenly she takes her fingers and opens Arizona's folds, revealing just how excited she was. She was dripping and it was all because of the insanely hot Latina between her thighs. She ran her tongue from Arizona's opening to her clit, circled it slowly then took it into her mouth with a soft suck. She notices Callie look up again to see her; the eye contact was something they always did, something that made them both so hot that they always came together even if one of them wasn't being touched. Her soft moans filled the whole room as Callie continued to stroke her clit with her tongue, the sensations were driving her crazy and she needed more. Arizona put her hands in Callie's hair as the orgasm rushed to escape her, one of the strongest orgasms she had ever had hits her like a tidal wave and she almost passes out as she forgets to breath.

Suddenly and without warning Callie enters her deeply as her orgasm is fading and sucks her hard on her clit. As Callie finds a steady rhythm and begins to curl her fingers inside the blonde, Arizona can't help but let out a cry of pleasure as Callie licks her greedily and Arizona continues to cum in her mouth, the sound of Callie moaning at the taste of her wetness send her over the edge again only seconds after the first wave of pleasure has ended.

Arizona was in heaven. What an amazing lover Callie had turned out to be, she certainly was not a newborn in this area for long, Arizona had made sure of that. They often had sex multiple times a day but three orgasms one after the other was a feat even for them. Arizona feels Callie wiggle her fingers and she realises that Callie's still inside her. She relaxes and Callie slowly and gently pulls her fingers out. Callie often liked to leave her fingers inside of her longer than was completely necessary, she said it made her feel closer to her. Arizona wasn't going to complain.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14 **

**CALLIE**

Since her intense sexual work out this morning Callie had been walking on air. Partly because her legs were still a little numb but mostly because of the smile that belonged to a certain blonde. This particular smile was beaming at her right now from the nurses' station; this smile was surrounded by beautiful dimples that made Callie's knees weak. As she wandered over to the perky blonde who was charting at the nurses' station she felt her heartbeat quicken. The past three days had been hell for Callie, she knew that she had been in the wrong by not telling Arizona what the Residents were up to but she also knew that Arizona's intense reaction to the situation was not purely due to this one event.

Callie knew she had pushed Arizona to the edge with her non communicative ways. Arizona is the type to talk her feelings through, sometimes she likes to talk them to death but things always get resolved in the end and Callie had noticed that after a long rambling session the tension in Arizona's shoulders disappears and she seems at peace. Callie guessed this was the reason the PEDS surgeon was able to be perky and fresh 99.9% of the time. The brunette envied Arizona's ability to unload her mental stresses, allowing herself to feel at peace, but she never seemed to be able to actually achieve it herself.

Over the past three days Callie had had to come to terms with the fact that recently she had been a pretty shitty girlfriend. She did lean on Mark far too often, she was moody and she did play a hot and cold game with Arizona at times. As she looked back on the past few weeks especially she came to the conclusion that Arizona was justified in her actions and she became determined to make it right between them. The blonde had set the pace of their relationship from the beginning and Callie had let her because she was still feeling hurt and a little broken but as she looked deep into herself now, she wasn't hurt or the least bit broken. Arizona had been patient, loving and kind to her and this had helped to mend her, this tiny blonde had put her back together. That probably wasn't true, Callie had put herself back together but Arizona had given her the strength and the means to do so and she never asked for anything in return.

Callie was once upon a time this outrageous and spontaneous person, someone who fell in love too quickly, got married in Vegas and did everything at a run jump. She knew she would never be that exact person again and frankly she didn't want to be the blind Callie who refused to see her marriage was a sham until the flames of it burning to the ground had already scorched her beyond recognition. However she did wish to regain some of her former 'Callieness', she longed to dance around in her underwear not caring who saw her, she wanted to be the free spirit she had been when she was an intern and junior resident and with Arizona she felt safe enough, loved enough to be that Callie again.

She had to step up her game when it came to their relationship. She had decided that from here on out she would take over the reins from her gorgeous girlfriend which meant it was now up to her to set the pace. Of course stealing all of Arizona's furniture had been an extreme way of letting Arizona know she was taking charge but this was the little piece of the old Callie coming out, the crazy Callie who did wild things in the name of love. She hadn't been sure how Arizona would react to the disappearing act of her furniture but the attack in the shower was certainly how Callie had hoped she would react.

As she sauntered up to her girlfriend who was now paying close attention to the chart in her hands, she couldn't help but smile to herself as she noticed a small bruise on Arizona's neck which she knew had been the result of their intense love making. Nothing brought a bigger smile to Callie's face than knowing that Arizona was all hers, Arizona would never allow anyone to leave a mark like that on her yet it didn't seem to bother her when Callie did it every now and then. The first time Callie had left this kind of mark on Arizona she completely freaked out. It was the first love bite Arizona had ever received which made Callie tingle all over to know that she was the only person EVER to have left a mark on Arizona, literally. Callie remembered Arizona rushing off to work that morning without noticing it, it happened to be one of her patients that pointed it out to her which of course was mortifying for Arizona. Then came the incessant teasing from Mark and Cristina, by the time Callie had arrived at the hospital that day for her shift Arizona was frazzled, embarrassed beyond belief and she was barely speaking to Callie.

In all honesty Callie hadn't meant to do it, she didn't even notice it at the time but she couldn't say she was sorry about it because frankly she wasn't. It was a sign of how passionate they were about each other, she mentioned this to Arizona who ignored her but did seem to soften, a little. Now whenever it happens Arizona simply covers it with a little makeup and moves on with her day. She does still blush when people notice however and now Callie just couldn't help herself.

Callie stood close behind Arizona and slid her arms around the svelte blondes waste. When she felt Arizona relax in to her she lifted her left arm to brush away the bouncy blonde curls from Arizona's neck and to her delight she watched as her girlfriend closed her eyes and side gently as she tilted her head to the side giving Callie room to explore her exposed neck. Callie began using her finger to draw circles around the small bruise that her mouth had created only hours ago.

"What are you doing?" Arizona whispered as she turned her head a little more towards Callie this time. Callie dipped her head and planted a soft kiss on the love bite before answering with a cheeky grin.

"Just admiring my handy work"

And with that statement a light bulb went off in Arizona's head as she blushed furiously and spun around to face Callie. She had turned so quickly that she almost knocked Callie over, her face was a deep red from embarrassment which only served to make Callie's grin wider.

"THAT is not the only one of those I found this morning" Arizona was trying her best to sound mad but Callie knew that it wasn't going to last long.

"Shall we step into an on-call room so you can show me the rest?" Callie retorted playfully, giving her girlfriend a wink.

"It's not funny Calliope. We're surgeons. We need to be professional. And I work with children. It's not exactly a great impression on parents when their child's doctor comes strolling in with massive love bites all over her body" Arizona was now giving Callie an admonishing look and the brunette knew that although Arizona was only pretending to be angry there was truth to her words.

"I know. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to" Callie smiled sheepishly causing Arizona to blurt out a small giggle. She reached out her arm and latched onto the bottom of Callie's lab coat pulling Callie closer to her and swiftly wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's neck. She planted a soft gentle kiss on Callie lips that rendered the brunette speechless.

"So I meant to ask you this morning before we… got distracted. Where did you put my furniture?" Arizona asked casually placing another gentle kiss on Callie neck this time.

Callie wasn't sure how to answer this question. She had planned this whole big speech which didn't really seem to fit into their sex routine that morning. Now Arizona was asking her and she had no idea what to say. This wasn't the time or place that she wanted to discuss this, she wasn't even sure if she should still go through with her original plan. Suddenly Callie's pager went off; she had never in her life been more relieved to hear that annoying beeping. She could now simply slip away without answering and give herself time to plan the next part of her 'make it right' mission. She knew Arizona wouldn't be satisfied if she simply ignored the subject so Callie instead told her exactly where her furniture was.

"I gave it to Karev" Callie blurted out just as she placed a swift kiss on Arizona's forehead and began running towards the ER. She looked back to see her girlfriend staring at her in complete shock and confusion and another huge smile graced Callie's face.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

The cafeteria was almost empty when Arizona had managed to find the time to grab something to eat. She had just finished a routine surgery that had taken her far less time than the time she was allocated for it, so now she had some time to kill and had decided to spend that time stuffing her face with food and reading a trashy magazine. Teddy had joined her not long after she sat down and they were now eating their matching lunches and flicking through a pile of entertainment magazines that Arizona had stolen from Mark's doorstep this morning on her way to work. Lexie subscribed to just about every entertainment magazine that existed and she usually left them for Arizona to read once she was finished. However, Arizona in a moment of spitefulness had decided she wanted to read them first.

Quiet time was seriously disturbed when Brooke, her younger sister had come bounding into the cafeteria. Arizona knew it was her without even looking up from her magazine, the sound of her little sisters feet hitting the ground will always be etched into her memory. They would spend hours upon hours running together when Brooke was still in school; Arizona helped her train for track and field events, they even entered numerous marathons together.

When she could finally tear herself away from the gigantic picture of Angelina Jolie on the page in front of her, she looked up at her sister to find she was unusually excited. This made Arizona extremely suspicious. Brooke had never been the perky excited type, that was Arizona's job but she looked seriously giddy with excitement.

"You look like you're about to pee your pants" Arizona smirked as she watched her sister bounce up and down in front of her.

"I'm nervous, don't mock me" Now that Arizona had seen the expression on Brooke's face close up, she realised that the bouncing was not due to an overly happy mood but more acquainted with her sisters nerves. She always got like this when she was freaking out, Arizona was kicking herself for not noticing the signs earlier.

"What are you nervous about? We don't have to operate for a few weeks, probably not until after Christmas. We have plenty of time. We're going to do this right Brooke. Everything's going to be fine" Arizona gave her best comforting big sister smile but it didn't seem to work on Brooke now quite as well as it used to when they were kids.

"They're coming Arizona!"

"Who's coming?" Teddy spoke for the first time since Brooke had bounded over to them, Arizona could tell she was intrigued by Brooke's mood.

"All of them! Every surgeon from here to freakin' Timbuktu!" Brooke was now pacing the small area between the cafeteria tables and muttering things to herself.

Arizona and Teddy were staring at Brooke in complete and utter confusion; they had no idea what she was talking about. They were all coming? Coming where? And who were THEY?

Arizona stood up and took a hold of her sister, shaking her back to reality. When she was finally able to get Brooke to speak in full sentences they both sat down and Arizona and Teddy listened intently to what Brooke had to say.

* * *

**10 MINUTES LATER**

Arizona and Teddy were staring at Brooke in shock; neither woman knew what to say. Arizona could feel her cheeks burning and she began to feel a little ill. This was bad, this was very very bad.

"Okay so they're all coming, we can handle this" Teddy seemed a little less nervous, but Arizona could tell that her statement was as much to try to convince herself of this face as it was to convince the other two.

"Are you sure you heard right?" Arizona was hoping that Brooke was wrong and that dozens of surgeons from all across America weren't coming to Seattle to witness the breakthrough surgery they were going to perform in a few weeks. The two blonde Attendings had listened intently to Brooke tell them all about her early morning meeting with Chief Webber and how he had informed her that a large group of Attendings and head of departments would be arriving just after Christmas.

This did not appeal to Arizona at all. She was generally a very confident surgeon, she was confident in her abilities and rarely ever doubted herself. Thinking about having a bunch of highly respected world class surgeons watching her every move during this procedure was putting her on edge. The three of them sat there in a nervous silence gulping down the lumps that were rising in each of their throats, they were interrupted by Cristina Yang who threw herself into a chair beside Arizona.

Arizona could feel Cristina's eyes on her; the resident had noticed the tense position of her body and was now staring her down.

"Don't tell me the three of you are sitting here worrying about the Chief selling tickets to the surgery" Cristina took a bite of Arizona's sandwich.

"He's selling tickets?" Arizona almost yelled as Teddy shot Cristina a wide eyed look. The dark haired resident was still casually eating Arizona's lunch.

"He's not selling them" Brooke managed to choke out.

"Well he should" Cristina spoke with a mouth full of sandwich and Arizona gave her a disgusted look.

"That's disgusting Cristina. And this is serious. This just adds extra pressure that we really don't need" The PEDS Attending was trying hard to make Cristina see the seriousness of this situation, without success.

"So what, a bunch of surgeons are going to be wandering around the hospital for a week and watching from the observation room. It's not a big deal" Cristina was so blasé about the whole thing it was starting to make Arizona mad. Brooke was still sitting in silence just staring at Cristina in shock whilst Teddy looked slightly amused by Cristina's no fuss approach to the situation.

"It's more than just a bunch of random surgeons Cristina. These are the best surgeons in the country. World class surgeons" Arizona was starting to raise her voice again, Cristina simply shrugged her shoulders.

"None of those word class surgeons were asked to be involved were they? YOU were handpicked for this and YOU came up with the freakin' idea in the first place. They're just a group of jerk offs who have come to WATCH!" Arizona smiled at the Residents very Cristina-like way of making her feel better. Strangely, it worked. Cristina was right, these people were coming to see them, and they wanted to witness their brilliance. So brilliance was what they were going to offer them.

"You're right. Thank you Cristina" Arizona smiled warmly at her girlfriends' roommate and Cristina simply rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Anyway, did you find out what the hell happened to your furniture?" Cristina abruptly changed the subject to one that made all of their eyes light up. Arizona had almost forgotten about Callie's little comment this morning at the nurses' station, she had tried looking for her but she had seemingly disappeared as had Alex Karev.

The four women spent the rest of their lunch break discussing the possibilities of where Arizona's furniture could be and Arizona had a feeling that Cristina wasn't quite finished with Alex.


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

**ARIZONA**

Arizona's shift was finally coming to an end, which was surprising to her considering the afternoon she had experienced. After what was supposed to be her quiet lunch break was interrupted by first here sister, Brooke with all her jibber jabber over a flock of world class surgeons making their way to Seattle. To make things more interesting Cristina Yang, Arizona's new extremely messy but hopefully temporary roommate had joined them. It made Arizona laugh to think that it had been Cristina who quashed their fears and made them feel better about themselves, it seemed as if it were completely unintentional on Cristina's part which made Arizona believe it all the more.

She still hadn't figured out what Callie had done with her furniture but she was planning on catching Karev on her way out. She knew that his shift ended when hers did because he had been taking care of her patients for the better half of the day whilst she continued to rack up hours in the skills lab and do research in the library for the upcoming surgery. Arizona had spent a lot of time in the skills lab over the years, she was a perfectionist and she believed that no surgeon no matter how great was above improving their technique or learning new skills that would set him or her apart from the others. She also liked it when she saw Interns or Residents working in the lab and it really made her day when she was able to assist them in learning something new. She had formed a good repour with the junior surgeons at Seattle Grace Mercy West; well at least she thought she had until this whole mess. She couldn't remember a time when she felt more hurt or betrayed by people she trusted and it just didn't seem fair to her.

However, Arizona Robbins wasn't one to sit around and mope, she didn't feel sorry for herself and she generally didn't hold grudges. She wasn't going to let this affect her ability to do her job but she was going to punish those who had wronged her, after all she was their boss.

As she left the Attendings locker room she saw Cristina and Alex Karev standing at the nurses' station, both of them charting and both of them pretending not to notice the other. The blonde Attending had really had enough of this childish behaviour so she strode over to them with a confidence she hadn't felt all week.

"You two follow me" Arizona stormed off in the direction of an on-call room.

She smiled as she whipped into the nearest on-call room and heard the sounds of feet running after her. Alex and Cristina entered the room looking utterly confused, a smirk crossed Alex's face.

"This isn't some weird Ménage à trois is it?" Alex looked pleased with himself as Cristina made a weird noise at the back of her throat almost like she was gagging.

"Do you really think that's an appropriate joke to be making right now Alex?" Arizona scolded him as if he was a naughty child and his reaction told her that he wasn't far off. Alex looked at his feet guiltily, shuffling them from side to side.

"No" Alex mumbled as he continued to look at his feet.

Cristina had her arms folded and she was almost facing the door so that she didn't have to look at Alex who was doing everything he could to avoid eye contact with Arizona.

"Do you two realise how ridiculous you're being? This is a hospital not a playground. I have patients who are more mature than you. You, name calling and hitting people in the hallways, sending fake pagers and you sabotaging skills lab tests and hiding charts, looking people in on-call rooms of supply closets" Alex looked confused by what Arizona was accusing him of, he wasn't confused because he didn't do it but he was confused as to how Arizona knew about his pranks on Cristina.

"Don't look at me like that. I work with the two of you every day and for people who don't like chatty you sure do talk a lot and I'm not sure you even realise you're doing it. Look I don't mind you sharing your problems with me but this is out of control and it stops now. The two of could be the future of this hospital and the only thing that could get in the way of that is yourselves. Now I want you to apologise to one another" Arizona knew that this was a long shot, trying to appeal to their senses but she had to try because she couldn't put up with this behaviour anymore. Cristina gives a little snort and tightens the grip her arms have around her body whilst Alex sighs loudly and moves his eyes back down to his feet.

"I'm not kidding Alex, apologise. You're the one who started this whole thing. Don't you look at him like that Cristina; you're just as much to blame here" Arizona was really starting to get pissed off at how immature the two of them were being.

"Me? He's the one who tried to suck my face off ten minutes after his wife left" Cristina shot Alex a disgusted look and took herself to the other side of the room. It was as if being that close to him was making her sick.

""I was drunk and you were gagging for it" Alex shot back quickly.

"Yeah I was gagging alright but I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole, not even if someone held a gun to my head" Cristina was practically spitting venom at this point and Arizona was reaching her breaking point.

"THAT'S IT! I have had enough. Cristina, his wife almost died then she got fired and skipped town. She dumped the guy in a Dear John letter for Christ's sake, give the guy a break he made a mistake" Cristina rolls her eyes but Arizona can see that she is getting through to the young Resident.

"And Karev, what the hell were you thinking? You're married! Marriage is for life not for convenience. You made a commitment for better or worse, this is worse. You don't give up, you never give up on the people you love even when you think they're being stupid or you don't agree with them. And no matter what she says Cristina's worried about Izzie too. If it weren't for her Izzie wouldn't even be alive right now. So you need to man the hell up and stop taking your problems out on everyone else" She wasn't sure whether she was being too harsh on Alex, he had been through a lot lately but did that give him the excuse to treat people badly and make her life difficult? Arizona believed that he did not have that right.

Alex and Cristina simply remained silent after Arizona was done speaking. The blonde knew they weren't going to apologise right now or throw their arms around each other and become best friends but she did fell that she had gotten through to them, all she had to do now was wait for them both to chew on and swallow their enormously large egos, chasing them down with shot with a giant shot of pride. Suddenly Cristina's pager went off, you could see the relief in her face when she checked it and realised she had to leave. The surly woman didn't say a word as she got up to leave but Arizona interrupted her departure.

"Oh and Cristina?" Cristina turned to face her. "Maybe you should think about what it is that you're doing to make all these guys think they can just come up and kiss you" Arizona raised an eyebrow in Cristina's direction, the Resident didn't say a word as she left the room but Arizona knew she had heard her. The door clicked shut and Arizona turned her attention on Alex Karev, the man holding her furniture hostage.

"Ok Karev, how much for the furniture?" Arizona folded her arms and gave Alex her best hardcore 'I'm going to kick your ass' face.

"Torres said I could have it for free" Alex looked defeated and she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes but she had no idea what he was talking about.

"I'm sorry, what?"

* * *

**CALLIE**

"She's late" Callie said out loud to herself as she rearranged the table for the third time. She had decided that the second half of her plan needed to involve a beautifully cooked meal, candles and conversation, all of which leading to a 'yes' and hopefully some sex.

Callie was taking this whole thing very seriously, she had even spoken to Brooke about exactly how do it, the whole furniture thing had been Callie's idea but it would never have occurred to her if it weren't for Arizona's younger sister. Callie had no doubt in her mind that Arizona was the one but she was beginning to doubt whether this was the right time for her to be doing this. What if Arizona says no?

Callie decided to put on some music while she waited for Arizona to arrive; she also poured herself a third glass of wine to hopefully calm her nerves. She had a feeling that if her girlfriend didn't arrive soon, she'd be too drunk to carry out her plans for the evening. Just as she was setting herself on the couch with a book she heard the door swing open. It startled Callie and she spilt wine on herself and the couch. As she looked up at the door she saw Arizona slamming it shut and turning to look at her, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Uh oh! This was not really going to plan.

"Hey babe" Callie tried to sound casual, she thought that maybe if she pretended not to notice the mood Arizona was in it might just go away. No such luck, Arizona just stood there staring at her for what felt like forever and Callie wasn't sure whether she should run and hide or try to deal with this situation.

"You gave my furniture to Alex Karev, to KEEP?" Callie could tell that Arizona was doing her best to remain calm but it wasn't working very well, her voice was shaking with anger and confusion.

"Oh well, yeah. He's looking for a new place and he doesn't have much money especially after he got stuck with Izzie's medical bills so I thought…" Callie was interrupted by Arizona speaking over the top of her.

"You thought you'd just give him my stuff? Who are you, Robin Hood?" Callie loved how Arizona always found a way to reference some kind of child like character, even when they were fighting; the brunette had to fight back a smile by pretending to scratch her nose.

"He's having a rough time Arizona, his whole life is falling to pieces around him" Callie was now trying to appeal to Arizona's good nature.

"Well what am I supposed to do now? Sleep on the floor?" Callie felt a sharp pain in her chest; she was a little hurt that Arizona thought her only option was to sleep on the floor when she had a perfectly fine bed here waiting for her.

"No, you don't have to sleep on the floor"

"Oh so I'll just go and buy a whole new bedroom set shall I? I'm an Attending I can afford it right?"

"That's not what I meant"

"Well what exactly did you mean? Please tell me, because I literally have no idea why you would do something like this" Arizona stood there waiting impatiently for Callie's answer, but the raven haired Orthopod was finding it hard to speak. She had planned this beautiful speech that she could no longer remember and she hadn't exactly been prepared for Arizona to be mad at her when she said it.

"Well Calliope?..."

Callie couldn't take it anymore; she was just going to have to just say it and hope for the best. She had to finally take a leap, it was now or never.

"You could move in with me" Callie blurted it out so quickly she wasn't even sure Arizona would be able to understand what she had said. Arizona however had heard exactly what she had said and was now rolling her eyes.

"Jesus Callie. You can't suggest we move in together just because now thanks to you I have nowhere to sleep" Arizona let out an exasperated sigh.

"Well I guess now I know how you feel about my bed" Callie was starting to get angry that Arizona first of all wasn't getting what she was trying to say and secondly clearly didn't feel the same way about sharing a bed.

"What are you talking about Calliope?"

"I'm trying to ask you to move in with me, that's the reason I gave Alex your furniture. It wasn't some 'take from the rich give to the poor crap'. I want us to live together, I want all your clothes cluttering my drawers, I want your perfume on the pillow to never fade away because you'll be here every night and you'll wake up here every morning. I even made us a little pager holder"

Callie points to a rectangular stand that is wide enough for two pagers, Callie's pager is already sitting comfortably inside it.

"I don't want you to have somewhere else to go to get away from me. I want you to have to stay here and yell at me when I screw up. I want this to be OUR bed not my bed because I love you and I'm in this, I'm standing here and I'm telling you to move in with me. I'm not asking you because you'll come up with all of these reasons why we shouldn't and then we'll put it off and it'll never happen. I know you doubt my commitment sometimes and I understand why, I don't exactly give you much reason to have faith in my commitment to this relationship but now I'm taking a stand. You ARE moving in with me Arizona and we're going to do this properly!" Callie had rambled on long enough that her mouth was completely dry and she was sweating profusely. She was now very unsure as to whether this whole thing was a good idea.

"Ok" was all Arizona could manage to say, she just stood there staring at Callie. The brunette knew that her girlfriend loved it when she took charge not just in the bedroom but in their daily lives as well. Callie generally let Arizona make all their plans, mostly because Arizona was more organised, had a great eye for detail and she really loved coming up with new and fun things for them to do. When Callie her that one simple word uttered by the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, her heart began to beat so fast she thought she might pass out and her cheeks were beginning to hurt because of the enormous grin she was wearing

"Really?" Callie felt like she was levitating, she had never felt more relieved and happy yet nervous in her life and there it was, THAT smile. The one that made her feel like she could leap over tall buildings in one bound. Nothing in this world could compare to that smile surrounded by the dimples that made her knees weak and to top it off she was going to be waking up next to those dimples every day from now on.

"Really"

Callie swiftly moved to stand in front of Arizona, taking hold of her hands. She felt a jolt run through her entire body the moment their fingers touched, their hands linked together so perfectly it was as if they were two block pieces that were specifically made to fit together. She had never felt like this before, sure she had loved before. Callie had loved George but she hadn't felt loved by him which I guess made her love him a little less. The whole Erica Hahn debacle had not produced a feeling as strong as love, maybe it would have been love if Erica had stayed around long enough to try but that was the difference between all of the people Callie had ever been with and Arizona. They had all left, every single one of them had decided it was too hard to stick around and work things out; they had taken the easy way out something which Arizona would never do. Callie's beautiful blonde never did anything the easy way, Callie was afraid of a lot of things with Arizona but being abandoned was never one of them.

"I love you" Callie snaked her arms around Arizona's tiny waist and used her thumbs to stroke the small of Arizona's back. She felt the blonde take a sharp intake of breathe as their bodies became within inches of each other and she couldn't help but smile once again. Arizona draped her arms over Callie's shoulders and leant in to whisper into Callie's ear.

"Are you going to show me to our room?" as she pulled away from Callie Arizona was sporting the sexiest look Callie had ever seen in her life and she thought she might cum right there on the spot, luckily she was able to control herself by biting down on her lip but as Arizona slowly led her to the bedroom she knew it would be long before she was writhing in pleasure under her sexy girlfriends touch.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16 **

**ARIZONA**

"Excuse me Dr. Robbins…?"

Arizona heard a timid voice call her name as she sat at her desk, half asleep. She hadn't left the hospital in almost six whole days and to top it off tomorrow was Christmas Eve and she hadn't done any of her Christmas shopping. Arizona was usually very festive but planning for this surgery had been taking up most of her time and she also still had to perform her Attending duties. She looked up to see Dr. Reed staring doe eyed at her, she did this a lot and it annoyed even Arizona, she wasn't sure how other doctors like Bailey and Cristina or even Callie put up with her.

"Yes Dr. Reed, what can I do for you?" Arizona put on a smile and spoke in the perkiest tone she could possible muster at 8am after zero hours of sleep. Reed seemed like she was afraid that Arizona was bite her head off, a lot of the Residents were looking at her this way lately and she had a feeling Miranda Bailey had something to do with this. She wasn't complaining of course, she was all too happy not to have to pretend to be friendly towards the people who had manipulated her and betrayed her trust.

"Ummm… they're here Dr. Robbins?"

"Who's here?" Arizona casually asked Reed who was now fidgeting with the blinds covering the office window. The PEDS Attending had taken to leaving those blinds shut over the past few weeks to shield herself from the stares of nervous Residents and Interns.

"The other Doctors. The Chief has them in the conference room"

* * *

**CALLIE**

Callie hadn't seen Arizona all day; she hadn't seen much of her girlfriend at all really since they had moved in together. If it weren't for this major career changing surgery taking place in the New Year Callie would think Arizona was avoiding her. Things had gone rather smoothly once Arizona had calmed down about the whole bedroom furniture fiasco, in retrospect stealing her girlfriends furniture and giving it to a third year Resident was probably not the best idea ever but Arizona had moved in with her and that was her desired outcome so she didn't worry about it too much. Whilst Arizona of course did not ask Alex Karev for her furniture back, she felt bad for him and even let him move into her old apartment for a while until her lease ran out or he found somewhere else to live. Callie thought it to be hilarious that Brooke and Alex were now roommates, although she was sure Brooke was spending just as much time at the hospital as Arizona was so Alex probably had the apartment to himself most of the time. Arizona did of course make Callie promise to go furniture shopping once this surgery was out of the way, they were going to buy an entirely new bedroom set to start this new chapter of the lives together.

It was about lunch time when Callie had decided to look for Arizona to see if she could pry herself away from her work for some quick lunch. She went to her office and found it empty, the nurses on the PEDS floor said they hadn't seen her since she rushed out of her office with Dr. Reed this morning. Callie had no clue where her girlfriend could be, she checked the board but Arizona had no surgeries today. It was a strange feeling not knowing where the beautiful blonde would be at any given moment of the day, Callie had figured she was probably in an on-call room catching up on some much needed sleep but as she headed towards their usual on-call room destination she was grabbed roughly by her best friend Mark Sloan.

"You're late. I've been looking for you" she didn't even get a chance to respond because Mark was now pulling her towards the conference room, being the least subtle guy on earth Mark swung the door open interrupting Brooke who was addressing a room full of doctors.

"Sorry we're late, saving lives and all that" Mark stated simply as he strode in unashamedly and took a seat in the front row. Callie followed close behind him she shook her head in an apology to Brooke who gave her a smirk that let Callie know she hadn't interrupted anything important and if she had Brooke really didn't mind.

When she finally took her seat next to Mark she looked up and finally noticed her. The most beautiful woman in the room was sitting next to Teddy Altman. Arizona made eye contact with her and gave her a small wink, flashing those dimples that could light up an entire room then went back to paying close attention to Brooke who was animatedly speaking to the captive audience. She was pointing to the board behind her and every now and then she turned to Arizona who spoke to the group from her seat.

Callie had never felt more pride than she did in that moment as she watched her girlfriend sit at the front of the room clearly in charge of this situation. Although Brooke had pioneered this idea and would be performing the actual modelling and transplant of the heart she was still only a third year Resident and was still learning in many respects so Arizona was running things. Everyone in the room seemed to be in total awe of Arizona and the way she had put all of this together in the few short weeks she had been given, she was indeed an amazing doctor but what was most astonishing about Arizona Robbins was the positive attitude she brought to every situation.

In all seriousness this surgery was a long shot, Callie knew this and Callie knew that Arizona knew this yet the PEDS Attending had managed to make every doctor in this room believe it were a distinct possibility that it would work, perhaps because of this attitude it just might.

"So we've come up with four teams. Team 1 will be inserting a ventricular assist device to the shared heart once I have performed the caesarean section. This will help the heart to support both infants' bodies until Dr. Robbins can perform the surgery on twins abdominal area, the babies cannot be separated until after this surgery and will only be performed once they are strong enough to proceed. Team 1 will be led by Dr. Altman assisted by Dr. Yang" Brooke pauses for a moment as small gasps are heard around the room; a few distinct groans are also heard. A number of people in the room including Alex Karev are not happy about Cristina being chosen to assist, however it made perfect sense to Callie that Cristina would assist in this situation.

"I will take care of Mrs. Hudson whilst Team 1 inserts the ventricular assist device. Dr. Robbins assisted by Dr. Bailey will perform the abdominal surgery on the twins. Team 2 will also be led by Dr. Robbins who will separate the twins assisted by Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Sloan. Team 3 will be led by guest doctor Addison Montgomery, assisted by Dr. Karev and Dr. Grey and they will take care of Twin A while Team 4 led by myself and Dr. Robbins assisted by Dr. Bailey and Dr. Yang will go on to transplant the constructed heart into Twin B"

As Brooke was speaking Callie noticed the door to the back of the room open and a number of people entered silently and slipped into the back row trying their best not to disturb the speaker, she caught a glimpse of unmistakeable red hair which she undoubtedly knew was Addison Montgomery. She also could have sworn she saw another figure that was all too familiar to her and she spun back around to the front of the room so quick she felt her neck pinch. It wasn't possible that that person would be here was it? She sure hoped not, Callie wasn't sure she could handle anymore drama in her life right now so she sat there facing the front not really listening to what Brooke was saying because she was too busy consciously reminding herself not to look backwards.

"Dr. Torres will also be required to build Twin B a temporary chest cavity so please make yourselves available to her as needed" Callie snapped out of her panicked thoughts at the sound of her name. Oh great, now she was expected to actually do stuff in this surgery? She had thought she was simply going to watch her magical girlfriend do her thing. Callie felt Cristina nudge her encouragingly as if to congratulate her for garnering herself a spot on the team but Callie could barely manage to keep herself breathing steady let alone smile at her roommate. Cristina noticed the panic in her eyes and gave her a confused look before pinching her on the arm.

"Dude, what's wrong with you? Are you ok?" Cristina was now staring at Callie like she was some sort of crazy person. Callie gripped Cristina's thigh tightly causing her to wince in pain.

"Back of the room. Tell me that's not who I think it is" Callie was urging Cristina to look towards the back of the room without actually looking away from Cristina. Her roommate gave her a confused look before turning her head to see what it was that Callie had gotten herself so worked up over. Callie felt Cristina tense up beside her and she could have sworn she heard her stop breathing, the next thing she knew Cristina was up out of her chair and practically sprinting out the door. Callie was left sitting there staring at the door her roommate had so abruptly exited from and she found herself looking toward the back of the room, her own panic momentarily quashed by her curiosity about what could have scared Yang away.

Suddenly she realised exactly what had her roommate running for cover, a tall dark and handsome surgeon stood up as people began exiting the room and passing by him a lot of them wanting to shake the hand of the legendary Preston Burke and much to Callie's horror standing next to him was the one the only Erica Hahn.

Callie thought she might pass out as she decided to follow Cristina's lead and get out of there as quickly as possible. She ran toward the same exit her roommate had sprinted out of, on her way toward the door she noticed Arizona standing at the front of the room so she took a hold of her girlfriend's wrist and proceeded to drag her out the door.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

**ARIZONA**

"Callie, what the hell" her girlfriend had a firm grasp on her wrist and she was being pulled out of the conference room roughly. Callie swung open the door to the on-call room across the hall and shoved Arizona inside. Arizona watched in shock as her girlfriend scanned the hallway making sure no one was following them before slipping into the room and closing the door behind her. In the hustle and bustle Arizona had been shoved onto the bed near the on-call room door as Callie stood at the closed door peering through the small window. Arizona tried to stand up to catch a glimpse of what Callie was so worked up over but she was pushed back down on the bed as Callie ducked out of the way of the window.

"Sshhh… stay down" Callie whispered. When it seemed that the coast was clear. Arizona noticed Callie exhale a breath that she probably hadn't realised she'd been holding and she moved to sit next to Arizona on the bed. Arizona could see that Callie was struggling with a number of different emotions and it was beginning to scare her. She knew exactly what it was or more accurately who it was that had triggered this reaction from her girlfriend but she was now feeling a little uneasy as to what it was that Callie was feeling.

Arizona had found out this morning that Erica Hahn would be one of the world class surgeons arriving at Seattle Grace Mercy West to witness the ground breaking surgery that she was leading. She had tried numerous times to call Callie to warn her of the renowned heart surgeon's arrival but she hadn't been able to get in touch with her and then she got busy. Arizona knew that this would be a difficult thing for Callie due to the way in which Erica had left town, she even knew that Callie would probably need to have a sit down with her ex in order to gain closure but she was now starting to wonder whether Callie was feeling something other than a need for closure.

"Look if this is about Erica Hahn, I tried to tell you I swear but you didn't answer any of my calls" Arizona was doing her best to remain calm and not let Callie know that she was feeling insecure about Erica's return.

"You knew?"

"Yeah The Chief told me this morning" Arizona was waiting for Callie to erupt, pacing the room and rambling in Spanish but instead she was eerily calm. Arizona even thought that she saw a look of relief wash over Callie's face.

"And you're not freaking out?"

"No, why would I freak out?

"Oh good" Callie was now sporting a beaming grin that once again caused a look of confusion from Arizona

"Wait, so you're not freaking?" Arizona was now more confused than ever. Why would Callie think that she would be freaking out? She didn't have anything to be freaking out about, did she?

"not if you're not" Callie gave Arizona a smile that made her knees weak but if Callie wasn't freaking out about Erica's return then why was she acting so weird?

"So if you're not freaking out, why are we in here hiding from her?

"I wasn't sure if you knew she was here and I didn't want you to hear about it from someone else or from Satan herself. She'll eat you for breakfast Arizona and…"

"You're so cute when you're rambling" Arizona cut her girlfriend off midsentence because she knew that if she didn't Callie would go on for hours. She found it unbelievably adorable that Callie was worried about how she would react to Erica's sudden appearance, it made her all warm and fuzzy inside to know that instead of freaking out and worrying about what she was going to say to her ex Callie's first thought had been about Arizona. They really had come a long way in the past few months and she suddenly felt more secure in their relationship than she ever had before. She was also incredibly turned on by this new considerate Callie.

She grabbed Callie by the neck and forcefully pulled her into a smouldering kiss but she felt Callie pull back just before she could enter her mouth with her tongue.

"I love you" Callie whispered, as she grinned at the blonde with so much love and lust that Arizona felt her whole body flush with what felt like a small orgasm. She heard Callie giggle softly and she knew that her girlfriend had noticed her shuddering and was feeling very good about herself right now. Arizona didn't mind Callie feeling like a legend, in fact she found it to be quite sexy, she loved confident cocky Callie and as she looked down at those luscious lips that were grinning cheekily at her she just had to take them, to taste them again.

The intoxicating atmosphere made her beauty shine even more. Arizona moved her hand over her lover's cheek, feeling the soft skin below her delicate fingers. She smiled, her heart almost bursting with the love she was feeling for the insanely hot brunette before her. Dark brown eyes looked back at her shimmering with emotion when their lips met once again. Wallowing in her lovers embrace, she allowed the taller woman to take over the kiss. Allowing it to take over her like night took over the day. Skin against skin, they moved as one with lips sucking and tasting the sweet flavours of each other. Arizona tugged at the bottom of Callie's scrub top letting the brunette know she wanted it gone. Within seconds it was discarded on the floor.

Callie moaned softly and murmured something Arizona didn't quite catch as she slowly kissed her way down the sexy Latina's neck, stopping mid way to lick, suck and bite a piece a skin so as to leave a mark. It was her turn to make her mark on her lover. She made her way to the dip in Callie's neck, her favourite place on her woman's body. She licked her there and circled its shape with her tongue causing Callie to moan again and murmured something else incomprehensible. Arizona realises that she didn't catch it because it was in Spanish... so sexy. She gave the place one last lingering kiss and reluctantly left it to move further down. Without a doubt Arizona really wanted to taste her sweet nectar but she loved that sexy, delicate dip more right now and suddenly the idea of licking ice cream out of it flashed in her mind and she chuckled.

"What so funny," Callie asked in a husky, lust-filled voice.

"Nothing baby, you just taste like strawberry ice-cream," Arizona murmured as she kissed between Callie's breasts. She did taste like strawberry actually and she smiled to herself as she realised that Callie must have used her body wash this morning.

Arizona made sure to quickly rid Callie of her bra and she made her way to the left nipple making sure she left a wet trail. She circled the stiff button before taking it into her mouth and sucking it gently. She gently bit on Callie's stiff nipple and heard her moan softly, she bites her harder and the brunette cries out in pleasure. She circles her lover's nipple with her tongue and hears her gasp at the new sensation. A trick Arizona learned long ago was that causing a little pain before giving pleasure intensifies the pleasure, especially for people with sensitive nipples which just so happened to be the case with Callie. Arizona suckled on Callie's left breast a little more, enjoying the taste of her skin and the soft sounds coming from her mouth. Nothing in this world was more sexy to Arizona than the gently noises Callie made during their love making sessions, although most people would assume the brunette to be an extremely vocal lover that wasn't exactly true. Callie was in fact not a screamer, she made gentle sexy noises that drove Arizona crazy and she whispered things in Spanish softly in Arizona's ear. They often made love with Cristina in the next room and she never heard a thing, they even on occasion did things like this in an empty on-call room but again no one ever caught them and they were never heard by the vast amounts of people walking up and down the hallways. They were discreet and that's the way they both liked it. Arizona knew this was different for Callie, she wasn't generally a discreet person and Mark Sloan had pointed out numerous times that she hadn't always been such a discreet lover but she also knew that this way of making love was far more satisfying to Callie. Arizona focused her attention on kissing her lover softly on the lips.

Callie moaned as Arizona massaged her tongue with her own and then she ran the tip of her tongue lightly along the roof of Callie's mouth. She then ran her hand along Callie's hips to grab her ass then up her body, along her waist, caressing her stomach and then up to cup those heavenly breasts. They were still slightly wet and sticky from Arizona's previous exploration.

Arizona gently pushed Callie down on the bed so that she was lying underneath her as the brunette latched on to Arizona's neck like a starved vampire; obviously she wanted to leave her mark too. Arizona moaned as she felt teeth, followed by Callie's tongue on her neck.

The blonde reached down and quickly removed Callie's pants and her red thong. Normally she would take her time, but right now she needed to taste her so she spread her legs and admired her briefly. She was indeed so beautiful it almost made Arizona cry but instead she slowly ran the tip of her tongue from the bottom of Callie's centre to just below her hidden clit. She hears a soft moan from above as she spreads her lover's lips and gives a slow deep lick.

Every taste and smell is different. She gives another lick, purposely ignoring her clit. Arizona can't help but groan because Callie tastes so good. Callie again whispers something that Arizona doesn't really catch since she has Callie's legs wrapped around her head covering her ears. Finally she sticks her tongue into her delectable core as deep as she can and Callie lets out a small cry as she arches her back. Arizona begins tongue fucking her slowly but after a few gentle thrusts she pulls out and decides to attack the swollen clit above her. She flicks her tongue over the now rock hard nub and she circles the clit with her tongue before sucking on it. Once satisfied that she has complete control over this situation she plunges her tongue back into the hot centre waiting for her. She wants to have her cum in her mouth.

Callie groans and runs her hands through Arizona's soft curls, gently massaging her head in much the same way that Arizona's tongue was massaging the walls of her hot core. Once Callie was dripping Arizona went back to licking her clit.

"Jesus Arizona," Callie whispers breathlessly. "Baby, make cum please... I need you inside me"

Without hesitation Arizona pushes a finger into her lover's drenched core. She's tight, so Arizona knows she is close but she also knows that she can take a second finger so she pushes another finger inside of her and begins a gentle rhythm.

"Baby that feels… amazing," Callie moans as she moves her hips with Arizona's ministrations, they find the perfect rhythm as Arizona holds Callie still enough so that she can suck and lick her clit whilst she turns her hand and curls her fingers, beginning to stroke the roof of Callie's core until...

"Oh god right there" Callie murmurs.

Arizona strokes the same spot a little harder and faster now causing Callie to let out the sweetest moan yet. She continues to thrust in and out, conscious not to go to fast but making sure she hits Callie's G-spot again and again. Arizona can sense that she's close to the edge so she takes the brunette's clit between her teeth and bites gently as she begins to pick up the pace of her thrusting fingers.

Callie whispers something else in Spanish as she begins to convulse with the orgasm now rushing through her body, Arizona doesn't let up until she feels the hot juices squirt out of her lover's core. So hot... she squirts...so very hot. She keeps stroking her spot gently until Callie starts to calm down. She finally pulls her fingers out and sucks them clean as she watches Callie shiver with each aftershock. Arizona moves up the bed to lie next to her panting girlfriend so that she can hold her as she comes down from her high.

"So good," she hears Callie murmur against her shoulder and she smiles to herself, wrapping her arms around the love of her life as she watches her drift off to sleep. Every so often she would feel Callie's body shudder with another tiny orgasm and she giggled to herself thinking, _I bet you didn't make her feel like that Erica Hahn. _And with that thought she too drifted off to sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

**ERICA**

"Welcome back Dr. Hahn. It's good to see you again" she heard a few of the nurses say as she passed one of the nurses stations on her way to the Chief's office. A lot of people had greeted her warmly since she had been back, it felt good but she also knew that it was fake, since she hadn't exactly made a good impression on her co-workers in the time she was head of cardio here at Seattle Grace.

Erica had read about this groundbreaking surgery in the recent medical journals, so of course being a cardio-thoracic surgeon her interest was piqued. She had signed herself up to be one of the very few doctors who would be able to witness and hopefully learn from this procedure. Of course at the time it was not known where the procedure would take place and once she had found out that it would be here in Seattle she tried to back out, her current Chief of surgery at New York Presbyterian however would not allow this.

So she had swallowed her pride for the sake of her career once more and returned here to Seattle Grace. It was now Seattle Grace Mercy West and as she walked the halls there definitely was a different vibe as well as a number of new faces to be seen. It felt strange being back here because it looked so much the same yet it felt so different. She was no longer in the loop here and all the conversations whilst a lot of them were about her sudden reappearance, most of them were about things and people she was unfamiliar with. Another thing that felt strange about walking into this hospital this morning was that Callie Torres wasn't waiting for her with a big smile and large macchiato.

Erica felt a sharp pang of regret as she thought about Callie, she also found herself feeling curious as to where the gorgeous orthopaedic surgeon was hiding out. She had been here since 8am and hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of her ex lover and best friend. She thought about asking someone but knew that the gossip mill would be running rampant the second she did, so she decided to just wait it out because she had to run into her at some point, right?

* * *

After her uneventful meeting with the Chief who seemed a little off his game if she were being honest, she decided to take a walk down to the cafeteria to grab some lunch and hopefully bump into a certain Orthopod. The cafeteria was fairly busy for this time of day and as she scanned the room looking for Callie, her heart skipped a few beats when she finally laid eyes on the woman who had changed her life over a year ago now.

The first thing that Erica noticed about Callie was of course that she was still as beautiful as ever but the second thing she noticed was that she was wearing navy blue scrubs which meant Callie was now an Attending. Erica couldn't help but smile at this fact, Callie was a tremendously talented surgeon and no one deserved this promotion more than her. Sitting at the table with her was a rugged red headed man and next to him was a slim blonde, both wearing navy blue scrubs. The other person at the table she knew to be Brookeleigh Robbins, a third year surgical Resident and board certified OB/GYN. Erica watched as Callie smiled and laughed with her two lunch companions, she looked happy which made the heart surgeon smile but she also felt an unbelievable sadness wash over her.

As she stood there motionless watching Callie she hadn't noticed Mark Sloan edging towards her from the other side of the room, close behind him was her favourite person, Cristina Yang. She made eye contact with Sloan as he stopped in front of her, arms folded in a guard like stance, Yang stopped close behind him leaning back on a table with her arms crossed in much the same way as Sloan. They were both staring at her with a steely glare, neither of them spoke but the way they had positioned themselves so that she could no longer see Callie made it clear how they felt about her return.

"Hello Sloan, Yang" Erica decided she should just say something and get it out of the way. She felt slightly awkward but was determined not to let it show. Yang remained silent; it was only Mark who spoke.

"What are you doing here Hahn?" he lifted his brow questioningly at her. He was clearly not happy about her being here and she knew it had to do with Callie. Did this mean that Mark and Callie were an item now? Was this the reason he was being so protective of her? Erica had known about their history together, in fact Mark had been a large part of the reason she had left Seattle and Callie in the first place. The thought of Mark and Callie together still made her skin crawl but what really bugged her was that if they were together it meant that he had won; he had won Callie's heart which in turn meant that she had lost.

"In Seattle or here in the cafeteria?" she was trying her best to remain her smug, confident self.

"I know what you're doing in Seattle Erica. What are you doing HERE? There's nothing here for you, I think you should leave" Mark was speaking with a bit of venom in his voice now and Cristina was nodding behind him showing that she was supporting his motion for Erica to leave. Usually she would defend herself and make a stand against the bullies on the playground but she really didn't feel much like causing a scene and she understood the sentiment behind their actions, in fact it made her sad when she realised that she didn't have any friends who would stand up for her like this. This was just another way in which the universe was telling her that Callie was too good for her.

Just as she was turning around to exit the cafeteria she bumped straight into a small blonde who was gliding her way into the room. Erica recognised the blonde as the other Robbins leading the groundbreaking surgery that had brought her to town. She had met her earlier this morning, she was very… perky. She also had a reputation that preceded her; Erica had heard great things about the Paediatric surgical Attending all the way from New York. As far as she had heard Robbins was not only brilliant and skilful but she was well known for her excellent bedside manner. The reason Seattle Grace Mercy West had been chosen to host this surgical phenomenon was all due to one Miss Arizona Robbins and the fact that she had garnered the hospital a 25 million dollar donation from one of her patient's parents. Erica came back to Seattle with high expectations of the PEDS surgeon and from what she had seen so far she was not disappointed, in fact she was extremely impressed by the tiny doctor's ability to command a room and she had walked by a patient's room earlier and she noticed that Robbins definitely had a way with the kids. It was hard to impress Erica Hahn but so far Arizona Robbins had been succeeding in doing this.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry. Oh, Dr. Hahn are you okay?" Arizona was indeed very sweet as she fumbled over herself trying to make sure that she hadn't hurt Erica.

"I'm fine Dr. Robbins" Erica straightened herself up and as she did so she noticed how tense both Sloan and Yang had become. They were practically standing on top of her at this point, she noticed that Sloan had a hold of Robbins' elbow and realised that he had stepped forward to catch her from falling.

"Well it's good that I bumped into you, I was looking for you actually. I was wondering if you were available for a consult" Arizona smiled brightly and batted her eyelashes slightly, Erica felt herself almost blushing at this sweet blonde before her.

"Uh, yeah sure" Erica managed to mumble out.

"Awesome! I'll meet you up on the PEDS floor"

Erica gave Arizona a small smile and headed out of the cafeteria; she was relieved to be out of there and welcomed the distraction of a case to work on. She took a look back and noticed Arizona shove Sloan hard in the chest and wave her arms around at Yang, she was clearly reprimanding them. Maybe she had been wrong about Sloan and Callie, perhaps this tiny blonde dynamite was really the one Mark was with… and with that she scooted off to the PEDS floor with a little hope in her heart.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

**ARIZONA**

"What the hell has gotten into you" Arizona shoved Mark hard in the chest as she began telling him off. Cristina gave a small snort when Mark whimpered at being hit by Arizona.

"And you, since when are you his lap dog?" that comment snapped Cristina out of her happy place and her face was quickly replaced by her usual surly expression.

"Jesus Robbins. We were just standing here. Is that a crime now?" Mark was rubbing his chest and for a split second Arizona felt bad for hurting him but then realised who it was she was feeling sorry for and the moment passed, quickly.

"Don't B.S me Mark. You were throwing your weight around like a big bully" Mark opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Arizona raising her hand.

"No Mark. I don't want to hear it. Leave Erica alone. Let Calliope fight her own battles, okay?" Arizona raises her eyebrows questioningly at Mark and when she is satisfied that he has gotten the message she turns on Cristina who hangs her head like a child who had just been reprimanded. Arizona smiles at the two of them standing there sulking. It really was very sweet of them to defend Callie's honour but she's a big girl and Arizona believed that it was in Callie's best interest to handle this one on her own, with her friends taking a back seat and only stepping in when or if needed. Arizona dug her hands into her lab coat and pulls out two small colourful items.

"Okay then, here you go. One for you and one for you. Come up and see me when you're done here, I need your help with something" Arizona grins cheekily as she hands both Mark and Cristina a lollypop. She watches as Mark stares at the lolly almost like he doesn't know what it is or what to do with it. Cristina gives Arizona a sceptical look before shrugging her shoulders, ripping open the wrapper and shoving it in her mouth. Mark is watching Cristina in awe and when he sees that she's enjoying it and nodding her head at Arizona who is smiling triumphantly he also rips his lolly open and shoves it in his mouth.

Arizona spins on her heels and heads for the door leaving Mark and Cristina standing there staring after and sucking on their lollypops, she hears Mark mumble to Cristina through a mouthful of lolly as she rounds the corner.

"This is like a bundle of sugary heaven on a stick"

"Mmm-hhhmmm" Cristina mumbles in agreement nodding her head enthusiastically.

Arizona giggles to herself knowing that the DR. Robbins lollypop ALWAYS works like a charm.

* * *

"That's the consult Robbins needed?" Mark couldn't hold back his laughter as he watched Erica Hahn enter a patients room dressed as an Elf.

"This is just too good for words" Cristina was also finding it hard to hold back her laughter.

"Oh this place is fantastic. Very entertaining" Teddy piped in giggling as Erica exited one room and entered another; Callie had arrived in the hallway just in time to notice Erica's eccentric attire and was wearing a look of utter confusion.

"What just happened?" Callie couldn't believe her eyes. Why would Erica be wandering around the PEDS ward wearing an Elf costume? Arizona suddenly appeared at the nurses' station, she was wearing the Santa hat that Callie had bought her. Callie had seen it the other day when she was buying Arizona's Christmas present and she just knew that Arizona would love it because of the way it lights up and if you press the top of it you can hear it sing Jingle Bells.

"Hahn has been Arizonafied!" Mark states simply with an enormous grin on his face, he's doing everything in his power not to burst out laughing but it's proving to be quite difficult. Owen, Cristina and Teddy seemed to be having just as much trouble controlling themselves.

"Yep" Owen manages through a snort of laughter.

"She's been what?" Callie was definitely out of the loop on this one.

"It's inescapable really" Teddy bites her lip to contain her giggles.

"Oh totally" Callie knew that Cristina would be enjoying this more than anyone else because of her history with Erica but she looked genuinely happy which was starting to freak Callie out a little bit because she had been looking like this a lot lately. It must be all the nifty new surgeries Arizona had been providing her with as practice for the upcoming surgery. Nothing makes Yang happier than cutting people open, even if they are tiny, irritating pudding loving people.

Callie was beyond confused by what they were talking about, it was clear that Arizona was behind the costume but why would she get Erica to dress up like a fool and most importantly HOW did she manage to do this?

"Well you see Torres, Goldie locks over there doesn't always use those dimples for good" Mark was all red in the face now from stifling his laughter and his eyes were watering, Cristina and Teddy were holding their stomachs as if their laughter would make their belly's burst. Just as Callie was about to ask what the hell was going on Derek interrupted her.

"Since when does Hahn play dress up?" Derek said with a hint of a giggle in his voice.

They all look up at Derek as if expecting him to know. Mark raises his eyebrow and nudges his head in the direction of Arizona.

"Really? She's been Arizonafied? Wow, she's good" Derek smiles admiringly in Arizona's directions. Callie was getting frustrated by their lack of explanation as to what the hell was going on.

"Yep, the best. I think Lexie's been picking up a thing or two" Mark almost immediately stopped grinning as he thought about how much his young girlfriend had been getting away with lately, knowing Arizona had to be at least subconsciously responsible.

"Well, best put a stop to that big guy" Derek gave Mark a sympathetic pat on the back as Erica walked out into the hallway again and caused the group to burst out laughing again. Erica noticed them this time and shot them a look that if this were a comic, would kill them all.

"Nice work Robbins" Derek calls out to Arizona and she wanders over to the still giggling group of surgeons.

"Thank you, but I don't know why you're all so happy about. You didn't think you were going to get out of participating did you?" she smiles that dimply smile that is likely to be the death of them all. They all look horrified because they know exactly what's coming.

"No, no I don't think so Robbins. We have patients to see, lives to save" Mark got his excuse in first but the others nodded in agreement with Mark.

"You're not even on duty Mark" Arizona had checked all of their schedules and none of them were busy for at least the next hour or so.

Mark shakes his head as if ashamed of himself for not thinking of a better excuse to get out of this, Cristina steps forward to speak but is swiftly silence by Arizona.

"Don't you even think about resisting. I own you" Arizona narrows her eyes at Cristina but keeps her dimply grin intact.

With that Cristina slinks back down in defeat, knowing there really was no way out of this. Arizona did own her, she was teaching her and she was the only doctor in the hospital who could put up with her incessant mood swings so Cristina needed to keep the perky PEDS surgeon on her side even if it meant dressing up like an idiot. Cristina Yang loved surgery just that much; Arizona knew it and was taking full advantage.

"But I do have something for you Mark" Arizona pulled out a red lollypop from her pocket and held back a smile when she saw Mark's eyes light up. He was still pretending to be mad but she knew he wouldn't refuse her 'sugary heaven on a stick'. She gently placed the lolly in the breast pocket of his lab coat but as she did so he put his hand out for more.

"It's gonna take more than that Robbins" Mark waited expectantly with his hand out, Arizona pulled out another one and placed it in his hand.

"Nice try. Keep em' coming" Mark gestures smugly for more lollypops as Arizona sighs and hands over the entire contents of her pocket to him, she only has a few left so he looks disappointed.

"Don't look at me like that. That's all I have left. Sorry Cristina, ask Mark" Arizona notices Cristina moving in for some lollies too but when she realises Arizona has none left she turns to Mark and tries snatching one from his grasp but she's too slow.

"Back off Yang" Mark warns her as she tried to sneak the one from his chest pocket.

"Oh come on Sloan. I want some sugary heaven on a stick" Cristina whines at him but he simply shoves them all into his pocket smugly and slurps loudly on the one he is already eating. Then, as if on cue Brooke began sauntering down the hallway and sidled up next to a cranky Cristina, she was smiling brightly until she noticed that Arizona was holding a script in her hands and then the bright smile of a few seconds ago was replace by a look of horror.

"Tell me that's some patient's homework you're doing Arizona and not what a think it is" Brooke was all too familiar with Arizona's festive cheer. Growing up Arizona had used her powers of persuasion to coerce Brooke into a number of nativity plays and this year would be no different.

"Oh it's what you think it is. This is going to be so fun, just like when we were kids" Arizona was doing everything she could to stop herself from jumping up and down.

"Hold on I have to think of a lie about why I can't do it. Just give me a sec, it'll come to me" Brooke replied sarcastically.

Arizona shot her sister a look that was very unlike the dimply smile she had used to coerce the others into participating, her new expression mirrored a Bailey type face more than her own but it seemed to be working.

"Or not" Brooke, just like all the others had given in to Arizona as she knew they all would.

"Fantastic! Okay so your costumes are waiting for you at your cubbies. Go get dressed and meet me back here in ten and I'll explain everything" Callie couldn't help but let a smile grace her face as she watched how truly excited her girlfriend was. Knowing how happy this would make Arizona almost made dressing up in a costume and pretending to be festive worth it, ALMOST.

The group of surgeons all turned on their heels and began heading towards their locker rooms but stopped in their tracks when they heard Mark's voice scream.

"HOLD UP! If I'm gonna do this Robbins, I wanna be Santa" Mark took his lollypop out of his mouth and waved it in Arizona's direction sternly, she couldn't help but giggle.

"I thought you might say that, it's in my office" Arizona saw a glint of excitement flash in Mark's eyes as he shoved his lollypop back in his mouth and stormed off towards Arizona's office.

The other surgeons also went on their merry way, leaving only Brooke and Arizona in the hallway.

"If I didn't love you so much I'd throw you out the window" Brooke was now holding her hand out and Arizona knew it was because she wanted a lollypop, it made her giggle that Brooke had known Arizona still had more lollypops left, she really did know her better than anyone else ever could and her lollypops really did work wonders she thought to herself as she dug around in her pocket for another sweet to give her sister.

"Has anyone ever told you that you should write for Hallmark? They could really use someone like you because that was just beautiful" Arizona replied sarcastically handing Brooke a green lollypop that made her smile so wide Arizona thought her face might fall off.

"Yep, those guys have been after me for years but whilst cards are an important part of life I just don't have time for it right now, what with world class surgeries to perform, babies to save" Brooke said smugly as she chomped down on the lollypop she had just ripped open. Arizona shook her head at her sister's silliness; she really had missed hanging out with Brooke.

"Okay well go catch up with Mark, you're costume's in my office too" Brooke raised a curious eyebrow but seemed delighted by the fact she might catch Mark Sloan in the act of dressing. She began wandering down the hallway probably a little too quick to seem casual which was the look she was going for.

"Behave yourself" Arizona yelled to her sister who was now picking up speed, she waved her arm in the air to acknowledge she had heard Arizona but she didn't turn around.

Arizona was getting really excited about Christmas now, usually she gradually built up her excitement over the whole months of December so as not to freak people out but since she hadn't been able to participate in anything festive all month, she would cram all of the month's festivities into the next few days.


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20**

**CALLIE**

As she stood in the locker room staring at herself in the mirror it suddenly hit her how far she had come in the past year. This time last year she was a broken shell of the women she had been in her early 20's, she was lost and confused. In a short space of time she had been married, cheated on divorced, gay and then abandoned. She had even had a few setbacks in the workplace but now she was feeling alive again, she had been recently promoted to surgical Attending, her friends were fantastic and supportive but the one thing that made her whole world shine brighter than ever before was that she was in love. She had been in love before, with George but she had always felt that she had loved him more which turned out to be true but that seems irrelevant now.

Callie's relationship with Arizona was so different to the one she had with George and the feelings she had for her current girlfriend far outweighed those of the crush she had had on Erica Hahn. She may have been able to fall in love with Erica but as fate would have it, they weren't given the time to test that theory and now it all just didn't seem important to Callie. She was standing there in the Attendings locker room wearing a stupid costume and all because the woman she loved had asked her to. There is no way in the world George could have ever made her dress like this, not in public anyway and the same with Erica, neither of them ever held the kind of power that Arizona seems to have over the hardcore orthopaedic surgeon. As she looked around the room she smiled to herself, Arizona had managed to get a group of extremely intelligent and talented surgeons to dress up like bunch of idiots. She was guessing this is what they were talking about when they said 'Arizonafied'.

"I can't walk around the hospital wearing this" Callie spun around as she heard the voice speak and she saw Meredith Grey wearing a reindeer costume. She had to bite her bottom lip in an attempt to stop herself from laughing.

"And why is it so freakin' long?" Meredith was holding up the tail end of the reindeer costumes clearly not aware that this was a two person kind of deal.

"Urgh because that's a two man costume. Someone else is supposed to be the ass" Callie managed to explain this to Meredith without bursting into fits of laughter. The reason she didn't just let go and start cackling out loud was because she dressed as a freakin' Angel, complete with a white a flashing halo.

"Right well which one of you is going to be my ass?" Meredith announced to the room just as Lexie enters.

"I'm assuming that's me" Lexie seemed defeated, she had obviously been sent up here by Arizona only to be disappointed in the fact that she now had to play the reindeer's ass.

Callie giggled as she watched Lexie and Meredith fight and struggle to organise themselves into their costume. This was more fun than Callie had expected it to be. Just as she thought she had gotten enough enjoyment out of this whole thing she saw Derek come out of the bathroom dressed as what was clearly supposed to be Jesus but his beard was crooked and Derek had yet to put the wig on. Every costume she saw just got better and better. First the Meredith and Lexie as Rudolf, then Derek as Jesus, following them were Owen as Joseph and Teddy as a Shepherd. Just as they were about to leave the locker room they realised they were missing someone.

"Okay so we have an Angel, a Shepherd, Rudolf, Josef and Jesus so who's Mary?" as if hearing her cue, Cristina exited the bathroom dressed as the virgin Mary which sent the entire room into fits of laughter. There was no more containing themselves; this was just all too amusing. Cristina however was all business.

"Right, so let's go do this thing. I have a surgery to prepare for" you could always count on Cristina to bring you back down to earth. She didn't particularly seem fazed by the outfit and she certainly wasn't embarrassed but she definitely wasn't happy about it either. She was simply treating this like it was part of her job; she sucked it up and got on with it.

The hilarity of Arizona's little nativity festivities were beginning to infect the occupants of the ridiculous costumes, they found themselves laughing amongst themselves and pretending to be their characters as they made their way back to the PEDS floor where they found Arizona waiting for them.

Standing with Arizona were Percy, Avery and Karev dressed as the three wise men and they were all sporting the exact same unhappy grimace. However, their faces lit up when they saw the costume Cristina was wearing and Callie could tell Karev was about to make a crack but a look from Arizona silenced him before he had the chance to open his mouth. The smile on Arizona's face made Callie's heart melt, she was just so happy that they were all participating. Arizona herself had dressed up as a Dr. Elf, she looked unbelievably cute.

They stood around for another few minutes not really knowing what they were waiting for when Callie heard and odd shuffling coming from behind her; she turned around to witness Bailey waddling down the hallway dressed as the Eastern Star. As she parked herself next to Callie she spoke in a very Bailey type voice.

"If any of you ever want to see the inside of an OR again, NOT. ONE. WORD!" and with that they all turned away from Bailey and reverted their attentions back to Arizona who was now smiling a smile so big it seemed painful. Then they saw it, the thing that they were waiting for, the something that was making Arizona smile the Guinness world book of records type smile.

Bells jingled as the saw a red ride on scooter round the corner. Sitting on it were Mark dressed as Santa and Brooke as his Mrs. Clause. They both seemed to be enjoying this far too much, but the entire group could help but burst out laughing as Brooke began waving regally and Mark began yelling while shaking his bell.

"Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas" Mark kept screaming as Brooke guided the scooter down the hallway slowly so as to allow all the children in the rooms to catch a glimpse of Santa who was waving at them. As they got closer and decided to park the scooter near the nurses' station Callie noticed the small red trailer that was being pulled along behind it. Sitting inside the trailer was a very solemn looking Reed dressed as an Elf and next to her was a pile of presents.

Arizona had explain the situation to the group and told them all what they were supposed to be doing and where they were supposed to be then had begun rushing them all off to the auditorium as soon as Santa and his wife had arrived. When they got there Callie was shocked to see how many people were there. Not only were their lots of children who had cluttered up the front of the room but the room was full of patients of all ages. I don't think any of the costumed doctors had been expecting such a large crowd but somehow the atmosphere in the room had silenced all of their fears. Even Cristina didn't utter a smart remark or complaint, nor did she manage to let a smile crack her face but then again they couldn't be expecting miracles here.

Callie noticed Erica standing at the front of the room in her Elf costume, only hers wasn't quite as festive as Arizona's or Reed's. Derek must have noticed the same thing because Callie heard him speak in an amused whisper to Arizona.

"Wait... why does that elf costume look different? Hahn doesn't have tights on" Derek was looking back and forth from Erica to Arizona to Reed.

"Yeah well, I'm good but I'm not THAT good" Arizona replied with a melodramatic sigh and a flick of her hair.

"She wouldn't wear the tights would she?" Derek smirked at Arizona nudging her slightly.

"Nope, she wouldn't wear the tights" Arizona and Derek laughed amongst themselves. Callie had noticed a friendship blossoming between Derek and Arizona recently, they had worked on a few cases together and they seemed to really gel professionally. The fact that Derek was a nice guy helped them to get along on a personal level as well. Callie found herself grinning inwardly as she realised that all of these people were here together in this room because of Arizona. She watched as all of the nativity play participants fumbled over themselves to makes jokes and have a laugh with the PEDS Attending, she was well liked and even though it hadn't seemed like it recently she was well respected. Now Callie just needed to get Arizona to realise that.

Callie had managed to avoid Erica so far but they had seen each other and made awkward eye contact a couple of times, the look in Erica's eyes had made Callie nervous and she knew that the heart surgeon wanted to speak with her but she pleaded with her own eyes to wait until Christmas was over and she hoped that Erica had gotten the message, which she had seemed to. Callie wasn't sure if Erica knew about her and Arizona or not, she doubted very much that Arizona would have told her but gossip keeps this hospital standing so she probably did know. Not that Callie really cared if she knew of not but she would have to prepare a different speech if she didn't so it would be nice to know either way. Seeing Erica had not been the way Callie had expected, she didn't feel… well she didn't feel much of anything really. She was still a little angry if she were being honest and she couldn't see herself ever being friends with Erica Hahn again but they had always had a good working relationship and she didn't see why that would be any different now. She just hoped to God that things wouldn't erupt between Erica and Arizona.

The doctors took their positions as the Chief aka Narrator/God began the story. As Webber read on the doctors entered the stage to perform their scenes and exited when they were no longer needed and when they had performed the entire story of Jesus' birth Callie took a quick look at the audience who all had their eyes glued to the front. Once the nativity play was over it was time for the Christmas Carols which meant it was time for Santa, his wife, his reindeer and his Elves to join the rest of the costumed performers.

When Brooke and Mark rode into the room on their red scooter with Meredith and Lexie pretending to pull it along, they all started waving at the audience animatedly and everyone in the room began cheering loudly. The children were jumping up and down with excitement. Sitting in the trailer now were the three Elves, holding a pile of presents each. Callie couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the short scene explaining all about Santa played out in front of her.

Next was the Christmas Carols which everyone was expected to be involved in, even Christina sang along to the songs. It seemed like they sang Carols for hours, song after song. The room was filled with Christmas cheer and holiday spirit. There were no words to describe the joy on the faces in the audience and Callie knew that dressing up like an idiot had been totally worth it.

Arizona of course had more planned for everyone but this time it was a little more in their comfort zone. Drinks at Joes! When they arrived they were amazed at what they saw, the entire place was empty except for them and the bar was set up like a Christmas sanctuary. Callie scanned the room and immediately knew that Arizona was responsible for all of this, there is no way Joe would have decorated the place like this of his own accord.

"Baby this looks amazing. You did a great job" Callie whispered in Arizona's ear as she slipped her hands around her girlfriend's slender waist. Callie could feel Arizona smiling against her cheek as she spoke.

"It wasn't me actually. It was Brooke and Cristina" Arizona spun around in time to witness the look of utter shock on Callie's face and she giggled at the sight.

"Cristina? What the hell have you done to her? You know she's Jewish right?" Callie was waiting for Arizona to freak out at that sudden announcement and hope she wouldn't be in trouble for not mentioning it earlier.

"Well you'd be surprised the amount of things Cristina Yang will do to get her hands on a scalpel and yes, I know she's Jewish" Arizona winked at Callie mischievously and the brunette couldn't help but let out a low chuckle at how cute her girlfriend was.

"Actually I don't think I would. I wouldn't put anything past the scalpel hungry monster" Callie returned an equally cheeking grin before placing a gentle kiss on the sweetest lips in the world. She felt Arizona's lips move slowly with her own as she moved her tongue to gain access to inside Arizona's mouth. The blonde was quick to accept and began gently massaging Callie's tongue with her own causing the orthopod to moan softly into her mouth. When she pulled away she couldn't help but let out another low chuckle thinking about how sweet her girlfriend tastes, she knew that Arizona had been eating from her candy stash today and it was a huge turn on to be dating a woman who frequently tasted like candy.

"What?" Arizona asked softly, blushing slightly. Callie could see that she was embarrassed and seemed a little self conscious.

"Nothing baby, you just taste like candy" and with that Callie brought her in for another head spinning kiss. Callie knew people were watching them but she didn't care, she was finally spending a holiday season with someone she loved and whom loved her back. Nothing could bring her down from this high.

The party at Joes had gone until the early hours of the morning. They doctors had amused themselves by drinking, playing darts and they even got into a Christmas drinking game that Brooke and Cristina had conveniently created whilst they were supposed to be decorating the bar. Callie later found out that they had roped Cristina's interns into putting up all the decorations, so typical Cristina. The music was fun and light hearted for most of the night but as the night went on they began to play songs with a little more beat and Callie of course had been drawn to the dance floor immediately. She and Arizona had danced for what seemed like hours, they danced closely and they danced crazily, they had the time of their lives because they were together and surrounded by their friends who really were more like a family. Erica had decided not to come to Joes after the performance, claiming she had 'stuff' to do and in a way Callie was relieved not to have to be in the same room as her ex on a night like tonight because the only person in the world she wanted to focus on right now was the woman who owned her heart, a one Miss Arizona Robbins.

The day had been the epitome of Christmas spirit. The patients had had a wonderful time and even the doctors who had originally dreaded this entire day had enjoyed themselves. Nothing could be closer to a perfect holiday than today; they were now all fully prepared for the joys of Christmas and some of them were even looking forward to it.


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21**

**CALLIE**

Christmas had come and gone fairly uneventfully, the night of the nativity festivities had really pretty much been the main part of the holiday celebrations. Callie had drawn the short straw and ended up having to work Christmas Eve which meant that Arizona was stuck having dinner at Derek and Meredith's house, but Arizona being Arizona didn't mind and had a great time anyway. The Christmas dinner had turned into an all night festivity so when Callie had arrived home on Christmas morning she found Owen passed out on the couch, the entire contents of what looked like both Cristina and Arizona's hand bags were strewn across the living room and when Callie entered the bedroom she witnessed a naked Arizona hanging over the bed. She had obviously come home fairly intoxicated which made Callie laugh because there was nothing in the world cuter than a drunken Arizona.

Arizona had woken about lunch time with an epic hang over so they had ended up spending most of Christmas day in bed, exchanging gifts before Arizona was due to be at the hospital. Callie had bought Arizona a beautiful gold necklace that had a pendant of two hearts intertwined dangling from it. The hearts were a combination of white and yellow gold with a small diamond at the centre of the pendant and Callie had had the heart engraved with a 'C' on one of the hearts and an 'A' on the other. She knew that it was cheesy and hardly original but it was a simple gesture that let Arizona know how absolutely in control of Callie's heart she was, it was the only thing Callie could think of other than a different kind of diamond that she knew neither of them were ready for just yet. Arizona had loved her gift and it sat beautifully on her graceful neck, every time Callie looked at her girlfriend she saw the necklace shining back at her and she knew that for now this was enough of a symbol to the world that Arizona was hers but another thing she knew to be undeniably true was that the other diamond would also come, not any time particularly soon but it was definitely something in their future, she had even decided on the cut.

The largest Orthopaedic conference in the world was taking place in a few months and this year it was being held in New York, Arizona had gotten Callie a ticket. She had wanted to go for years, ever since she was a measly intern she had wanted to attend this ground breaking conference, she couldn't think of anything better than being in a room full of the best surgeons in the world but it had been 15 years or so since it had come to America and during her early days as an intern or surgical Resident she hadn't had the time to fly half way around the world. It has brought tears to Callie's eyes to know that her girlfriend knew her so well; it was by far the best present she had ever received. A ticket to the world's largest ortho conference and three whole days in a hotel room with the sexiest woman alive, sounded like heaven.

So as the holiday season passed and things got busier at the hospital she had managed to completely escape any awkward situations with Erica Hahn which had been a welcome relief due to the fact her schedule was so crammed lately. However, she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid her forever and the day that would have to speak to the renowned heart surgeon was fast approaching. Arizona had spent a few nights working with Erica, getting her input on some things for the upcoming surgery but Callie was still unsure of whether Erica knew about her and Arizona or not. Not only was Christmas now over but New Years had come and gone so Callie knew she didn't have much Hahn free time left and she was going to make the most of it. One person she wasn't happy to be free of was Addison. The neo-natal surgeon had arrived in Seattle on the 23rd and left the same day for an emergency back in L.A and she still had not returned. Callie had missed her long legged, red headed friend and was eager to catch up so as the surgery was now approaching Callie wasn't looking forward to dealing with Erica but she was looking forward to catching up with an old friend and introducing her to the love of her life.

* * *

**ERICA**

She had been in Seattle for nearly three weeks now and she was surprised at how easily she fell back into her old routine. Webber had given her a few cases to keep her busy and Arizona, the perky PEDS surgeon and her thankfully much less perky sister had been picking her brain in regards to their ground breaking surgery. Erica was impressed with the Robbins sisters, they had a certain cockiness she admired yet neither of them was unlikeable. In fact they were both extremely likeable, Erica often sat back and watched the interactions of all of the different surgeons in the hospital from all the different departments and the one thing that seemed to be true of ALL the doctors in ALL the departments was that they all genuinely liked Arizona Robbins. The sister was a little more of a 'star' one might say and commanded more attention but Arizona has definitely managed to gain the trust and respect of not only the Interns and Residents that worked under her but her fellow Attendings and Heads of Departments.

Arizona was not the Head of Paediatrics yet she ran the ward as if she were. If there was a problem she was paged whether she was on call of not. Essentially she WAS the Head of Paediatrics without the official title. Erica knew that she herself would never be happy to do all the work and not get any of the credit but Arizona was different, she did her rounds with a smile on her face at all time of the day and/or night, she ALWAYS made physical contact with her young patients and made time to help their parents understand their conditions. Nothing got passed her and she had an answer for everything.

Erica had even begun to notice some of the Residents like Karev, Grey or even Yang visit the PEDS floor regularly to ask for her advice on patients they were dealing with or for her help with their studies. She even walked in on an impromptu skills lab lesson run by Dr. Arizona Robbins herself. You would never know it to look at her but the woman had hands like a God, Erica had taken to watching many of her surgeries from the gallery recently and she had by far the steadiest hand Hahn had ever seen and not only that but she was quick with her stitching and she also happened to be ambidextrous which was something many surgeons would kill to be.

Hahn didn't often admire the work of other surgeons but she was sure that Arizona should have been a plastic surgeon they way she cut into her patients, barely leaving a scare, everything was so pretty and delicate but Erica had guessed she learned to be that way because she spent her days cutting into pretty and delicate children.

So many things had changed around this place and yet everything was the same. The gossip mill seemed to be running just as well as ever and Erica hadn't missed the way people spoke of Arizona and her 'partner'. At first she had thought they meant Brooke Robbins, the sister but later realised they weren't talking about a professional partnership but a personal one. Arizona was dating a fellow doctor at Seattle Grace Mercy West and they were somewhat of a 'star coupling'. At first Erica had thought that Mark was the other half of the star couple but when she saw him making out with the younger Grey she realised she was way off base. Something she found odd was that none of the male doctors here seemed to make any attempt at hitting on her, who was this other half of this dream couple that the other men were so scared of even checking her out. It couldn't possibly be because she wasn't attractive, she was indeed attractive, in fact she was stunning and that was when it hit her.

How could she not have known that Arizona Robbins was a lesbian?

Erica had never had much of a gaydar but for her to overlook something this obvious was just ridiculous. Arizona was followed around all day long by nurses trying to get her attention. She flashed her dimples a lot more when in the company of an attractive women, not necessarily in a flirty way, although she was indeed quite a flirt but in a more joyous, happy to be surrounded by beautiful intelligent women all day sort of way. Everything seemed to make more sense once this realisation had finally her and all the other elements of what people were saying had begun to fall into place. The heart surgeon should have known that this was going to happen, that she would come back and find that Callie had been swept off her feet by some sort MrDreamy 2.0 type. Although she had no proof of this and she was too proud to ask anyone if Arizona and Callie were a couple, she knew it to be true. How could it not be?

She had spent the past three weeks preparing the speech she was going to give Callie once the holiday season was over and things around here were returning to normal but this revelation had definitely thrown a wrench in her plans.

* * *

**CALLIE**

"Hey Torres" Callie heard a familiar voice over her shoulder, this voice made her whole body shiver but not in a good way. As she turned she saw Erica Hahn standing a fair way away from her almost like she was afraid to come any closer.

"Uh Hey" Callie managed to blurt out an unsteady greeting. She knew this moment was coming but she hadn't really expected to feel this way. In fact she had expected to feel a lot of things; hurt, angry, nostalgic maybe but she didn't expect to feel… NOTHING! As she stood there staring at the heart surgeon whom Callie once considered giving her own heart to she realised she did feel angry and she felt betrayed but she no longer felt hurt and she certainly did not feel nostalgic, the more she looked into the eyes of the woman who would always be her first the more she began to see that there really wasn't anything she needed to hear from Erica. What was done was done and she didn't much feel like reliving the past with her ex sort of girlfriend just like she didn't feel the need to relive her past with George who had been a bigger part of her life than Erica Hahn had ever been.

The confident Orthopod just didn't see how rehashing past hurts could ever solve anyone's problems. She had let it go and she would tell Erica as much, she would also offer up her hand professionally but as for them being friends? Callie didn't really have any interest in being friends with Erica Hahn.

"Is it safe to approach?" Erica was trying her best to crack a joke. Callie didn't find it funny and she didn't feel like pretending she did so she simply raised an eyebrow and waited for an explanation.

"You're guard dogs aren't hiding behind there are they?" Callie was getting tired of this game, she had no idea what Erica was trying to get at and quite frankly she didn't care. She just wanted to get her paperwork done so she could go home.

"I'm sorry, my what?" this wasn't the first time that Callie had seen Erica Hahn blush but it still didn't sit well with her, it was just plain weird.

"Yang and Sloan. They've been tracking me since the day I got here" the tall blonde did her best to explain herself whilst slithering her way up to the nurses' station and leaning casually up against it. Callie reverts her eyes back to the chart she had previously been engrossed in and doesn't make eye contact with Erica when she speaks to her.

"Oh them. Well yeah they're… well, they're Mark and Cristina" Callie lets out a small sound of amusement when she thinks about the ways in which Mark and Cristina must be torturing Erica. It was so typical of them to do something so nice in such a horrible way. They were two of her best friends and she knew that they were only trying to protect her, after all they had been the ones who had to put up with her when Erica shot through and they had been the ones who had had to try and pick up all the pieces of Callie's broken form. In many ways they had just as much reason to be angry with Erica as Callie did but she did make a note to herself to ask them to back off because she was looking a little worse for wear.

"They're like Jekyll and Hide" Callie was not at all appreciative of Erica's tone when she spoke of her friends.

"They're good friends Erica. The best actually" Callie knew she was being short with her but she just couldn't help it. She was becoming more and more annoyed by Erica's presence and the fact that she was bad mouthing the people who had made it possible for Callie to walk tall again was really pissing her off.

"I know they are Cal, I was just kidding" Erica placed her hand on Callie's shoulder gently and instead of a warm familiar feeling Callie felt nauseous so she quickly pulled away from Erica's hand before turning to face her and looking her in the eye for the first time in a year.

"Don't call me that. Don't call me Cal like we're still friends. Like we're still…" Callie felt the moisture building in her eyes as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Callie, I'm sorry I… "Erica was stepping forward to make physical contact once again but Callie was too quick for her this time as she stepped out of the blonde's reach.

"Why are you here Erica?" Silence.

"No actually you know what I don't really care why you're here, but you should know that things aren't the same here anymore. I'm not the same. I've moved on, I'm happy now so I don't want you to feel bad. If you thought you were going to come here and find me all broken and miserable then I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm kick ass. I've never felt better about myself and I guess I owe a lot of that to you because it was you who sent me down this path, it was with you that I realised all I could be but it's with her that I have come to realise all that I AM" Callie stops dead in her tracks when she realises she is about to bring Arizona into this currently one sided conversation, but she can't bring herself to continue her thoughts about how Arizona was the one or how she felt like floating every day since she had met Arizona.

"Callie I know I must have hurt you and I'm so sorry. I just couldn't deal; I couldn't handle knowing that you were going to choose everyone else over me, every time. Whether it was Mark or Izzie Stevens. It didn't matter who it was but it was never me and I just couldn't deal but I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean much now but I just needed to say it anyway" Erica was now becoming way too emotional and it was beginning to freak Callie out.

"No Erica. Don't be sorry, it's too late for sorry. You're sorry, I'm sorry but you made a decision to walk away so at least have the guts to stick to that decision and keep on walking" Callie spoke I a calm and even voice. She didn't have any bitterness or anger in her tone anymore; it was more a tone of acceptance and understanding. She understood that Erica was sorry and she knew that she was sorry too but too much time had passed, too many things had been said and done or in their case NOT said or done. They were over, well and truly over and in this moment Callie felt like a heavy load that she didn't even know she had been carrying was being lifted from her shoulders.

The confident Orthopod just didn't see how rehashing past hurts could ever solve anyone's problems. She had let it go and she would tell Erica as much, she would also offer up her hand professionally but as for them being friends? Callie didn't really have any interest in being friends with Erica Hahn. However the look in the heart surgeon's eye as she walked away without another word spoken told Callie that she perhaps was not exactly on the same wave length.


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22**

**ARIZONA**

Arizona sat in her office sifting through some patient files. Derek, who was now the current interim Chief due to Richard Webber taking a leave of absence, had asked her to go through some of the old PEDS case files on record in order to make sure there were no incidences that could be uncovered by the sneaky journalists that were now beginning to arrive at Seattle Grace Mercy West.

Rachel Hudson was now in her eighth month of pregnancy, she had been progressing well over the past two months, the babies were a decent size and they were quite strong. Everything was going well which meant that it would soon be time for the team to act. Brooke would be performing the c-section any day now which meant that Arizona would officially have two new patients. Since Brooke was the only certified OB/GYN on the team, at this point all of the responsibility was on her very capable shoulders but the second those babies were born the responsibility would lie solely with the highest ranking Paediatric surgeon on the team which just so happened to be the eldest Robbins sister.

She was scared and she was unsure about this whole thing but she had a lot of faith in her sister and she knew that Brooke wouldn't be doing this unless she thought they had a good chance of succeeding. Along with the fear and doubt came exhilaration over doing something so challenging and elation over the fact that it might just work and they may be able to save not just the lives of the twin girls who would soon enter this world but of the entire Hudson family. Arizona and Brooke knew what it was like to lose a family member. They remember how hard it was on their parents when their brother Danny had died and how hard it still was sometimes and neither of them has been able to shake that aching feeling that something is missing, both were beginning to think they never would.

Arizona knew that this surgery was about more than some medical achievement to Brooke, it was about keeping those babies alive and TOGETHER. Brooke and Danny were twins; this was something Arizona hadn't really shared with anyone before because she found it hard enough to talk about Danny's death let alone the effect it had had on her baby sister. The close bond between twins is well… it's unexplainable, and it had always been that way with Brooke and Danny. They fought a lot growing up causing Arizona to take up position as the family mediator, but when they weren't fighting they were running and jumping and laughing, it was as if they could read each other's minds. They tormented Arizona throughout her early teenage years but by the time Arizona left home for college the three of them were so close that the eldest Robbins child had almost considered not going to Harvard and going to a school closer to home just so that she could be with them. The Colonel however wouldn't allow it so she had gone to New York minus her two shadows.

On May 6th 2006 Arizona's mother had received a phone call that her son Daniel Robbins III had been killed in Iraq when engaged by hostile fire. The entire family had been sitting by the phone for 3 days waiting for that call. They had known it was coming but they still weren't prepared for it.

Arizona remembered it well, she had woken to the sounds of her sister Brooke calling out in her sleep. It was the early hours of the morning on the 3rd of May 2006. She had run into her sister's room, it had taken three or four shakes of the shoulders to wake the deeply sleeping Brooke but when she did Arizona had almost wished that she hadn't. Arizona will never forget the look in her baby sisters eyes when she opened them and allowed her tears to flow, the pain and sorrow the saw in them was unbearable and Arizona knew what had happened. Brooke had simply stated "He's gone" and Arizona knew what she mean. She knew that she was talking about Danny and she also knew that he had been killed. There isn't a way to explain it but the moment it had happened Brooke had felt it, almost like a part of herself had died with him and Arizona didn't question what Brooke felt because as soon as she saw the look in her little sister's eyes, she felt the loss too.

Their parents had been a little harder to convince, they were trying their best to be hopeful but when the phone rang that morning they all knew it was over. So Arizona knew without a doubt that Brooke was going to try everything she could to keep the Hudson family from going through what the Robbins family had been through.

Arizona's thoughts had been interrupted by her sister entering the room and messily sprawling herself out on the couch. She didn't say a word to Arizona; she simply closed her eyes and reached out her hand. Arizona knew how much Brooke needed physical contact especially on days where she found herself stressed or tired so she took a hold of her baby sister's hand and squeezed it gently. She smiled to herself as she watched Brooke's entire body relax at the silent gesture. Brooke craved physical affection the same way children did, she would often crawl into bed with Arizona just to be cuddled even as they became adults Arizona still found that Brooke needed that physical contact and if she were being honest Arizona had found herself enjoying that sort of physical contact as well. They didn't speak, it had been a rough day and both knew that words would not be enough right now.

* * *

Arizona had moved herself over to the couch where she now sat with Brooke's head in her lap. She held her research in one hand reading it, whilst running her fingers through Brooke's dirty blonde hair. Brooke had been asleep for the past 20 minutes but Arizona found the repetitive motion of massaging her sister's head to be relaxing so she continued to do so until her attention was averted by Teddy entering her office.

"Arizona? Oh sorry, are you ready for us? We can come back later" Teddy stopped in her tracks when she saw the relaxed position of the Robbins sisters on the couch but the sound of the door opening had woken Brooke and she sat up receiving Teddy with a sleepy grin.

"Hey Teddy come on in. I was just getting a little shut eye before our research party" Brooke was already up off the couch and stretching her body out lazily. Arizona could tell how much Teddy really liked Brooke and vice versa but Brooke also liked Cristina so the three of them had a complex relationship. Brooke is one of those people with extreme views on the world and she's not afraid to let her feelings on any particular situation known. The strange love triangle between Teddy, Cristina and Owen was something Brooke had been very vocal about in the last few days but Arizona had a feeling that Brooke hadn't even begun on this issue.

As Teddy made herself comfortable at the table Arizona had set up in her office the others began pilling in. First Lexie had bounced in and taken a seat on the lounge where all of the junior surgeons were asked to sit every time they held one of these 'research parties' as Brooke liked to call them. Then others like Karev and Meredith took up positions around the room, leaving the seats at the table empty for senior surgeons like Mark Sloan and Derek Shepherd. Yang and Bailey were the last surgeons on the team to arrive and as soon as they did Arizona got to work updating everyone on Rachel Hudson's condition and set out a time line for when they were going to put all of their plans into motion. Once she had gone over all of the details of Rachel's current status she let everyone else have their say on what they were up to in terms of their research and preparation for the surgery.

Cristina was in the middle of one of her incredibly long speeches about another new procedure she had either dreamed up or researched. Funnily enough Cristina took up most of the talking time; she did the most research and was the most passionate person at these meetings other than Brooke of course. This side of Cristina was what made it impossible for Arizona to feel any animosity towards the budding cardio surgeon, even if she was cold and had a terrible bedside manner. This time Cristina had come up with a combination of drugs that may assist in the growth of the handmade heart, everyone in the room was listening intently when Cristina was interrupted by the entrance of Erica Hahn and Preston Burke.

"Thank you for coming Dr. Burke, Dr. Hahn" Derek stood up and greeted them with his best Chief of surgery voice causing much confusion in the room. Arizona hadn't asked either of the renowned cardio thoracic surgeons to join this meeting and yet here they were and here Derek Shepherd was greeting them as if it was his pleasure to have them.

"It's our pleasure Dr. Shepherd" Arizona found it a little strange how formally Burke spoke, he had worked here at this hospital when it was still just Seattle Grace so he must've worked with Derek Shepherd although it didn't seem like they were close which surprised her because she knew Derek and he was quite the social butterfly. Someone she knew had been close to Burke was Cristina. Callie had told her that Cristina had loved Burke and that she had nearly married him but he had left her at the altar on her wedding day and then skipped town without a word. She also knew of his work of course but what she didn't know was what he was doing here making everyone uncomfortable as they watched him and Cristina make eye contact for the first time in the weeks that he had been in Seattle.

Callie had asked Arizona to help Cristina avoid Burke as much as possible and she had been extremely successful in doing so, until now. Arizona wasn't sure whether Cristina was going to cry or launch herself across the room and tear Burke's throat out. The latter seemed more Cristina-like. She was shaking slightly and had positioned herself behind Arizona, she had even subconsciously gripped onto but instead she quietly excused herself and as she did Arizona nodded to Meredith who swiftly followed her out. Burke was doing his best to seem unaffected by the situation but Arizona could tell that he was shaken by not only Cristina's presence but her abrupt exit. This was going to be a rockin' 'research party' Arizona could just feel it now.

* * *

The rest of the meeting had gone rather smoothly, it turns out Derek had asked Hahn and Burke to be a part of the team constructing the handmade heart. Arizona wished that Derek had come to her and talked this through with her before making a decision like this but after the meeting and hearing the input from both surgeons she agreed that it was a good idea to get them on board. One thing that was annoying her throughout the meeting was Brooke's phone that kept buzzing, she didn't answer it and she actually looked quite upset and agitated every time it rang.

As everyone was exiting Arizona's office after the epic three hour 'research party' Brooke's phone began ringing for the fourth time in the past two hours.

"Are you going to answer that anytime this century?" Arizona snapped at her sister.

"It's not important. I'll see you later tonight" Brooke rushed out of the room so quickly she almost knocked Callie over on her way out.

Arizona stood there shaking her head in confusion at her sister's weirdness but the crinkle above her brow and the squint in her eye relaxed when she saw Callie saunter into the room laughing at the way Brooke had almost bowled her over.

"Uh, is she okay?" Callie wondered aloud.

"She's being weird. She get's weird sometimes" Arizona knew she was smiling from ear to ear but she couldn't help it, the site of Callie just made her heart burst with joy and happiness. Before Arizona could register what was happening Callie had slithered her way up against the blonde and was now resting her strong ortho hands gently on Arizona's tiny hips. Arizona felt a shiver that shook her whole body when Callie touched her, there was nothing better in her mind than being in the arms of the woman she loved.

Callie was looking at her the way she had always dreamed someone would look at her, it was amazing how many dreams Callie had made come true for her. Callie pulled her closer and rested her head gently on Arizona's shoulder, the PEDS surgeon could feel her lovers breath against her neck and the strong hands that were resting on her hips moments ago were now wrapping themselves around her body tightly and she felt hands creeping their way under her scrub top to caress that soft bit of skin on her back, just above her scrub pants. They stood there like this for a long time, just holding each other and swaying to the gentle humming that Callie was now making in Arizona's ear. The intimacy of this moment between them was perfection.

This is how Arizona imagined heaven would be.

* * *

**BROOKE**

"I told you to stop calling me. I don't have anything to say you. No, I don't care and you stay away from her you hear me? Don't call me again Lauren" Brooke knew she had to answer the call or she would just keep calling. Hearing from Lauren made Brooke nervous; she hadn't spoken to her in nearly 5 years yet she found that Lauren still had the ability to affect her but she would do anything to protect Arizona from being affected, ANYTHING!


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23**

**CALLIE**

"What are you doing Torres?" Callie jumped at the sound of her best friend's voice. She realised how ridiculous she must look crouched down behind the nurses' station on the PEDS floor but her curiosity over Brooke's strange actions these past few days had gotten the best of her. Mark was now standing over her about to blow her cover so she shot her left arm out knocking the cocky plastic surgeons legs out from under him. He landed on the floor next to her with a silent thud and she cupped his mouth with her hand to stop the inevitable screaming that was about to come out of it.

"Sshhh… she'll see us" Callie spoke in a whisper to Mark as he looked at her like she was some sort of crazy woman, which she felt like she might actually be.

"What the hell Torres? Who are we hiding from?" Mark was now peering around the nurses' station to look for the person that had Callie cowering in the corner. She knew that he had seen who it was when his face lit up with a cheeky grin. He got this look on his face every time he saw Brooke lately and it made Callie nervous.

"Brooke's been acting weird, Arizona's worried. She hasn't been sleeping and it's driving me nuts. So I'm spying okay?" Mark was now grinning at Callie with his brows raised questioningly.

"You mean Blondie's been too stressed worrying about baby sister to take care of your needs Cal?" Mark always had a way of reading Callie's mind and she hated it. Instead of answering him she shot him a dirty look and continued spying on Brooke who was talking to a group of nurses.

"That's totally it isn't it? Blondie hasn't been paying enough attention to you since little sister came to town and now you're spying on her to what? Find some dirt?" Mark's tone was becoming more serious as he spoke and although some of what he had said was correct, she had been missing some affection from Arizona over the past week she didn't want Mark to think she was trying to make Brooke look bad because that was far from the truth. All Callie wanted was to set Arizona's mind at ease and let her know that her sister was fine. The hardcore Orthopod really liked Brooke, she was charming and funny and she was really supportive of her relationship with Arizona but more than that she was supportive of Arizona. Callie knew that there was nothing in this world that Brooke wouldn't do for her big sister which was exactly the way Callie felt about Arizona so she felt it only fair to extend her love to her girlfriend's sister. If there was something going on Callie wanted to be able to be there to support Brooke and hopefully help Arizona to relax, if she happened to get laid because of all of this it would just be a bonus.

"Shut up Mark. I'm just trying to find out what's going on okay? Arizona's worried, Brooke's being all weird. I'm just…"

"What is Yang doing?" Callie had diverted her attention away from Brooke and onto Mark for a moment to ramble on about her good intentions when she was interrupted by him, when she turned back around she saw Cristina whisper something to Brooke and before they knew what was happening both of them had disappeared from sight, each in a different direction.

"See what I'm saying? Weird" Callie slumped down in one of the nurses chairs as Mark stood upright crossing his arms across his chest and nodding his head as if he were thinking intensely.

"You know what Torres? I'm going to do you a favour and help you out. Don't worry we'll get to the bottom of this and Blondie will be jumping your bones in no time" Mark gave her a mischievous wink before dashing off down the hallway in what Callie gathered was pursuit of Brooke. She couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the thought of Mark joining in on her information seeking quest, she was grateful for his help yet she was unsure whether he would be an actual help or a hindrance. Mark Sloan was hardly the subtle type.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

A sharp pain in her shoulder was penetrating her thoughts as she was scrubbing out of a nine hour surgery. Arizona had barely slept a wink this past week and was finding it extremely difficult to focus in the OR. The stress of the upcoming Hudson surgery for which preparation would begin in less than a week, her newly appointed Paediatric duties that Derek Shepherd had assigned her and of course the weirdness that is her little sister was all beginning to take its toll on her. The fact that she had barely spent a moments alone time with Callie in almost 9 days was definitely not helping matters.

As she scrubbed out and thanked her scrub nurses and Residents for their assistance she heard the door swing open and Alex Karev stepped in. He stood there in the doorway as if he were waiting for her to say something but when she didn't he stepped in closer and began shuffling his feet next to her.

"What do I have to do to get on your service?" Karev blurted out bluntly, he was definitely not the best communicator but Arizona could tell he was trying. However, she wasn't about to let him off the hook just yet.

"You know what you have to do Karev" Arizona responded with as little emotion as she could, she cared a great deal for Alex Karev but he had hurt her deeply recently and she was not about to let him off without him doing a little grovelling. She stopped for a moment looking him right in the eye expectantly but his silence told her that he wasn't ready to comply with her terms so she gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and slipped out the door.

* * *

The sound of people's shoes hitting the floor as they run by is the only sound Arizona can hear as she lay in one of the empty on-call room beds. She knows that sleep is extremely unlikely at this point of exhaustion but she wasn't feeling very social so hiding out in a dark on-call room was the best way she could think of spending her free time. As she lay there naming every procedure she had ever performed which was something she did instead of counting sheep, she heard the door creep open but she couldn't be bothered sitting up to see who it was.

"Hey, are you asleep?" Arizona heard Callie's voice break the silence and she felt a smile sweep across her face as her lover sat herself gently on the edge of the bed.

"Trying" Arizona replied as she opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Callie had changed out of her scrubs and was wearing a slim fitting pair of jeans, a low cut dark green top and her famous leather jacket and she looked hot!

"How about I sit here til you fall asleep?" Arizona nodded sleepily as she felt Callie slide into the bed beside her. Arizona relaxed and closed her eyes tightly when she felt Callie wrap her strong arms around her waist and pull her in close. She never felt safer than when she was in Callie's arms and she loved it when Callie ran her fingers back and forth along the sensitive skin on her belly, it soothed her and lulled her to sleep every time. Callie's voice also helped to send her into dreamland, sometimes she would talk until Arizona was asleep but other times like now, she would sing softly in her ear.

_I'm so in love with you__  
__Whatever you want to do__  
__Is alright with me__  
__'Cause you make me feel, so brand new__  
__And I want to spend my life with you_

* * *

**CALLIE**

Watching Arizona drift off to sleep was one of Callie's most favourite things in the world. She knew that Arizona loved it when she sang to her and if she were being honest she loved it as well.

_Me sayin' since, baby, since we've been together__  
__Ooo, loving you forever__  
__Is what I need__  
__Let me, be the one you come running to__  
__I'll never be untrue__  
__Ooo baby_

_Let's, let's stay together__  
__loving you whether, whether__  
__Times are good or bad, happy or sad_

Within ten minutes Arizona was in a deep sleep so Callie kissed her gently on the lips and silently found her way out of the room. Before closing the door behind her she took one last look at her sleeping beauty, feeling her heart swell with pride that the woman in there had chosen to be with her.

Just as she pulled the door closed and began heading up the hallway she literally ran into Mark, both of them almost falling flat on their asses.

"Jesus Mark! Watch where you're going" Callie snapped at him whilst steadying herself.

"I've been looking for you everywhere Torres. Come on, come with me" Mark was already dragging her down the hallway and shoving her into the elevator before she had time to respond.

"Where are we going?" Callie was trying to pry her arm out of his vice like grip but Mark wasn't having any of it. He looked anxious about something and he couldn't keep still, one of his legs was constantly jiggling as he huffed and puffed waiting for the elevator doors to open.

"THAT is what's got Brooke acting so weird" Mark practically screamed as the elevator doors opened to reveal Brooke talking frostily to a stunning red head. Callie took in the sight of the red head as she felt Mark nudge her, he was looking extremely happy with himself. His chest was puffed out with pride at the fact that he had seemingly solved the mystery of the weirdness that was Brooke Robbins.

"Who is it?" Callie asked Mark assuming that he had sussed out the situation before dragging her up here.

"How the hell would I know? But she's hot" they had now manoeuvred themselves out of the elevator and into a position where they could easily see the interaction between the two women whilst keeping themselves safely out of view.

"That could be anyone Mark. You're really bad at this whole detective thing. She's probably a patient or something" Callie was shaking her head at Mark in disbelief. He had almost pulled her arm off trying to drag her up here and it was all to watch Brooke talk to some red head. She now knew never to ask Mark Sloan to do any detective work ever again. Not that she had asked in the first place.

"She's a little old to be one of Brooke's patients don't you think?"

"She's an Obstetrician Mark" Callie was amused by how invested in this Mark was becoming

"Right, well… she's also a PEDS fellow and she's here working on a PEDS case so I doubt she's making time in her schedule for hot barely pregnant red heads… unless" Mark now had a glint in his eye that was utterly disturbing and Callie knew that he was having dirty thoughts about her girlfriends little sister so she kicked him, hard.

"Ouch! What was that for? I'm just trying to help you here Torres. The red head is not a patient. I mean look at them. They clearly know each other" Mark seemed to be right, the more Callie watched their interaction the more she noticed the way the red head kept trying to make some sort of physical contact with Brooke, only to be thwarted at her every attempt. Brooke seemed extremely agitated which didn't really fit, if she were talking to a patient or a patient's parent she wouldn't be allowing herself to become emotional. In the short time that Callie had known Brooke she had noticed the similar way in which both of the Robbins sisters dealt with their patients and their patients family's, calmly and always with a smile.

"Oh my God, I think you're right. Well done Mark" Callie patted him on the back encouragingly earning a big grin from him.

"You're welcome. Now all we have to do is find out who the hot red head is" Callie could tell that plans were beginning to form in her best friends head and she knew she had to pull the plug on his involvement before he made an ass out of the pair of them.

"Thanks Mark but I can take it from here" Callie watched as Brooke snatched up some files that were lying on the nurses' station and stormed away from the now speechless red head. It looked almost as if the red head were crying; Callie couldn't be sure because she had run past them so quickly she didn't get a chance to have a good look.

Mark was staring at her expectantly, he nodded his head in the direction of the woman who was now speeding off down the hallway and raised his brow as if to ask whether Callie wanted him to go after her or not. She knew that sending Mark to gather information was a VERY bad idea, but she just couldn't help herself. She really wanted to know.

"Ok go" Callie blurted reluctantly and Mark all but flew up the hallway in pursuit of the fleeing red head.

Ultimately Callie knew that none of this was going to end well but knowing was better than not knowing, right?


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 24**

**CALLIE**

Callie was pottering around the kitchen making dinner for Arizona for the first time in almost two weeks. Arizona was sitting on a stool at the island writing an email to her parents, something she hadn't done at all since Brooke had been in town. Callie wasn't even sure that Arizona's parents were aware that Brooke was here, in fact since Brooke had been here Arizona had not only avoided calling her parents but she had avoided any mention of them at all. This all seemed a little weird to Callie now that she was thinking about it properly, Arizona always made an effort with her parents so this was very out of character. She made a mental not to ask Arizona about it later.

As she stirred the sauce in the pot she felt two dainty hands rest upon her hips before feeling those milky white arms wrap around her waist. She couldn't help but sigh contentedly as she felt Arizona pull her in close; this was the kind of intimacy that Callie had been missing over the past two weeks. It wasn't the sex, which of course she had missed A LOT but it was the moments like these ones where they could just bask in the company of one another.

"Smells great baby" Arizona whispered into Callie's ear as she placed a gentle kiss on the raven haired beauty's shoulder.

Callie turned around on the spot to face the petite blonde. The closeness of their bodies caused her to gasp; it never ceased to amaze her how the simplest of touches or even a loving look could set Callie's entire body on fire. As she bent down to place a sweet kiss on her girlfriend's lips she felt the perky blonde lean in to it as she let out a satisfied moan.

"I've missed this" Callie sighed as the held Arizona tight.

"I know baby, I'm sorry I've been distant. I'm just so stressed out with this surgery and I have no idea what's going on with Brooke" Arizona was rambling and Callie knew it was because she was feeling guilty about being a bit neglectful of their relationship over the past few weeks, so she silenced her with a kiss. This kiss wasn't as gentle as the one before but it was filled with love, Callie felt Arizona smile against her lips as she tried to enter Arizona's mouth with her tongue.

"Looks like somebody needs a one on one physical examination from Dr. Robbins tonight" Arizona grinned seductively in Callie's direction and the hardcore orthopod felt her knees go weak. Those dimples that were just so Arizona, were out in full form tonight and Callie just couldn't resist them. The brunette lean in for another head spinning kiss but this time Arizona allowed Callie tongue to enter her mouth. They kissed slowly, letting their tongues massage each other gently. Arizona sucked Callie bottom lip into her mouth and it was all Callie could do not to cum in her pants right there in the kitchen. Arizona was just about sexiest woman Callie had ever seen in her life; she was an incredible lover, very skilled but it was her kisses that really made Callie's mind boggle.

Arizona always tasted like something sweet, either her lip gloss or just her in general but it was more than that, it was the way her tongue would enter Callie's mouth and dual with her own, they way she would softly suck on Callie's bottom lip whilst lightly running her tongue over it. Arizona's kisses were like magic, they made Callie feel as if she could fly and right now she felt as if she were soaring above the clouds.

Just as things were getting heated, hands were roaming and their breathing was becoming laboured they were startled by the door swinging open. Mark stumbled in the door quickly followed by Cristina; they were pushing and shoving each other and panting heavily but they both straightened up when they saw the two women standing in the kitchen. Neither of them seemed like they wanted to be the first one to speak, Mark elbowed Cristina as if to tell her that it was her job to explain their chaotic entre. Cristina however, wasn't having any of it so Mark stepped forward but seemed to be having trouble forming a clear sentence.

"Uh Cal? We have a… uh… we have a… situation" Mark managed to stutter out.

Both Callie and Arizona were staring at Mark like he had grown a second head but the way his eyes were darting towards Arizona made Callie think that he must have found something out from the red head, although she had no idea what Cristina's involvement was.

"I need you for a quick consult. Won't take long" Mark was frantically motioning for her to follow him. He had even picked up her jacket from where she had thrown it earlier. Callie wasn't sure what the hell was going on but she was almost positive that it had something to do with Brooke and possibly the red head so she gave Arizona a quick peck on the lips before rushing towards the door where Mark stood.

"Just keep stirring that babe. I'll be back soon" and with that Callie and Mark were out the door and heading toward the elevator. It wasn't until they were safely inside the elevator out or ear shot of Arizona that Mark spoke.

"Torres you are going to owe me big time" Mark was now looking a little too excited and it was really starting to freak Callie out.

"What the hell is going on Mark?" she was becoming inpatient with him so she spoke to him probably a little more harshly than was completely necessary.

Mark just smiled at her and pulled her out of the elevator as he started to jog across the road towards the hospital she had no choice but to run to keep up with him. Once they were inside the hospital Mark waved numerous people away from them as he led Callie down towards the skills lab.

"If you dragged me over here to show me another one of your miraculous skin grafts I'm going to kill you Mark" Callie was one of the most inpatient people in the world so her best friend's behaviour was seriously starting to piss her off.

When they arrived just outside the skills lab she saw a number of people gathered outside the door. They were clearly also here to witness whatever this mysterious thing Mark wanted to show her was. Mark began shooing away the curious interns and just as he did Callie heard the loud thumping of someone's feet coming in their direction. Cristina had somehow caught up with them and thrown herself in front of the skills lab door.

"You can't go in there" she panted holding her hands up to stop Callie and Mark from coming any closer.

"Yang, what the hell?" just as she said this she realised what Mark had brought her here for. Inside the skills lab was Brooke Robbins and the mysterious red head.

However, their interaction now was much different to the icy conversation they seemed to be having earlier. Right now Brooke was looking extremely angry and seemed to be yelling at the red head. It was hard to make out what exactly was going on with Cristina's mass of curls blocking her view and her voice chattering away about how she couldn't go in there. This looked bad, Callie could tell that this was quickly becoming a serious situation and she really needed to get in to that room, her roommate was not going to stand in the way of that.

"Cristina, get out of my way!" Callie spoke warningly to her surly roommate but Cristina was stubborn and she wasn't budging, even though Callie was now seriously encroaching on the Residents personal space she wasn't backing down.

"I can't. She's going to take me off the surgery if I let you in there. I NEED to be in on this surgery Callie" Cristina was almost pleading with Callie and if this hadn't been about Arizona's sister whom Callie felt was now a part of her family too, she probably would have given in to the pleading in Cristina's voice.

"You won't be able to scrub in on any surgery ever again if you dead will you? Now get the hell out of the way" Callie practically screamed at her roommate and she could see that Cristina was considering her options for a moment when Mark's pager began beeping.

"I have to take this. You okay here Torres?" Callie could tell that Mark was less than happy about leaving her in this situation but he had a job to do and it was his responsibility to go and do it. She gave him a wave of her hand to let him know that she was fine but didn't take her eyes off of Cristina for even one second.

Cristina must have decided that Callie could indeed kill her, or at least ensure that she would never operate again which to Cristina would be worse than dying so she reluctantly stepped away from the door leaving Callie free to enter the room that now had some immense screams coming from inside it.

As Callie took a deep breath before opening the door, she watched in complete shock as Brooke launched herself across the room towards the red head and had pinned her up against the wall. The red head was squirming, trying to relieve herself from Brooke's grasp but the youngest Robbins was too strong and Callie knew that she had to get in there before this escalated further.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

Arizona watched as Mark and Callie clumsily scrambled out of the apartment leaving only herself and Cristina. She had absolutely no idea what was going on but both Mark and Cristina had looked flustered when they arrived and now Cristina was standing there in front of her rubbing shaking her head mumbling incoherent things to herself.

"What's going on?" Arizona spoke for the first time since all this craziness had started and she seemingly had startled Cristina out of her own thoughts.

"Uh… I have no idea… I left something at the hospital. I'll be back" Cristina jumbled those words out before she dashed out the door slamming it loudly behind her.

This was not the night that she had planned. She had planned on having dinner and getting in some quality alone time with Callie but all of that had been ruined yet again by all the crazy people in their lives. Arizona thought that it must be something serious if Mark was rushing over here to ask Callie for a consult. She was wracking her brains trying to think if Callie ever mentioned helping Mark with any of his patients before, she couldn't. She also couldn't recall any of Mark's patients at all, she rarely ever worked with him it was generally only ever when she called him for a consult on one of her patients.

Then it suddenly hit her, Mark was currently working on a six year old girl who had been burnt in a house fire but she had also suffered a broken collar bone due to a ceiling beam hitting her. Callie had initially treated the girls break, but she was too unstable to operate on due to her extensive burns. Perhaps Mark had managed to stabilise her enough for Callie to operate?

If this was the case then Callie was going to be hours, this wouldn't be a quick surgery. So instead of sitting around here waiting for her girlfriend to return she decided to head over to the hospital and wait for her. Maybe she could even do something to help since the patient was a child and she was the head of Paediatrics.

The blonde quickly threw on her shoes and a jacket and turned the stove off before dashing off in the same direction three other people had only minutes ago.


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25**

**CALLIE**

Callie couldn't believe her eyes as she stepped into the skills lab she watched with amazement as Brooke held the red head up against the wall and was screaming at her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Callie was shocked by the coldness and sheer anger that she heard in Brooke's voice. It was very hard to believe that this angry woman was at all related to her Arizona, her sweet, kind and gentle Arizona.

"This has nothing to do with you. Get the hell off me" The red head was just as angry as Brooke was and was thrashing about trying to get out from under the blonde's grasp but it seemed that Brooke was just too strong.

"I told you not to come around here. I told you to stop calling, stop writing! Just leave us the hell alone. You hear me?"

Callie had to bolt over to the side of the room where the two women were struggling with each other in order to stop Brooke from decking the slightly smaller woman. She grabs hold of Brooke and wraps both of her arms around her waist, lifting her up off the ground and carrying her backwards so that she was out of reach of the equally angry red head.

Brooke was far from happy about this, she was kicking and screaming for Callie to put her down however, there was no way the brunette was about to comply with that request.

"What the hell Brooke?" Callie asked her as she tried to get her to stop kicking and screaming.

"Stay out of this Callie. This is between me and that poisonous snake" Brooke momentarily escaped Callie's grasp and launched herself at the other woman once again, this time she connected with her and took her down to the ground. Callie had to wrestle with them to separate the pair but before she was able to pull Brooke away the blonde had managed to get in a couple of quick hits.

"Jesus Brooke you're going to really hurt her" Callie couldn't believe what was happening. She felt like she was in a twilight zone. This was seriously the last thing Callie had expected from Brooke, granted she didn't really know her all that well but in the past few weeks she had gotten to spend a bit of time with her and whilst Brooke was far from the perky cheerleader that Arizona was she did seem to be a very relaxed and easy going kind of person. So this behaviour seemed extremely out of character. The question was, what had this red head done to cause this sort of reaction from the usually unperturbed Obstetrician?

"Oh I'm not going to hurt her. I'm going to kill that bitch" Brooke began grabbing things off the nearest table and throwing them at the red head who was trying desperately to duck out of the way of these flying objects. Brooke was a surprisingly good shot and a large object had managed to hit the other woman right in the head causing a gash just above her left eye.

"Fuck! Stop! This is ridiculous, what the hell did you do?" Callie directed her question at the woman who was now trying to cover the cut on her eye with her jacket as she was trying to pull Brooke towards the door in the hopes of getting her out of this room before anyone got more seriously injured.

"She's crazy! This has nothing to do with her. She's a fucking meddler! But you can't control this Brooke. I'm not going away, I'm going to speak to her" Callie didn't know what it was about this woman but she didn't feel at all compelled to feel sorry for her but she wasn't sure why.

"Like hell you are. I'll kill you. I'll kill you before you get near her again, I swear I will" the anger in Brooke's voice was beginning to scare Callie and who was this SHE that they kept talking about? Who could this woman want to speak to that Brooke was so fiercely protective of? And then it hit her. They were talking about Arizona, her Arizona.

"Keep her away from me" the red head tried to make her way for the door but Brooke had managed to move herself along with Callie in the way of the door so there really was no escape for the red head. Callie knew that this woman was looking at her now and her lips were moving so she knew that the red head was speaking but Callie couldn't bring herself to focus on what the woman was saying. All she could think about was the fact that this woman must have done something bad to Arizona, which did not endear her to Callie in the slightest.

"I just want to see her Brooke please" the red head was all but crying at this point but Brooke wasn't letting up. Callie had no idea what she was going to do to end this Mexican stand-off. She could let Brooke go and hope she doesn't stay true to her word and kill the other woman, although that seemed unlikely and with the information mounting on this woman being someone who had hurt Arizona, Callie was tempted to release her grasp on the still struggling blonde.

Suddenly Callie heard a few frantic taps on the glass and all three women in the skills lab turned their attention to it. Callie felt Brooke's entire body sink into her arms when she saw who was tapping at the door. Callie's shock at seeing Arizona standing behind the glass allowed Brooke a moment to pull free of Callie's clutches and she began sprinting over to the red head.

"Brookleigh Danielle Robbins!" the sound of Arizona's intensely stern voice almost made Callie jump and it made Brooke stop dead in her tracks.

The four of them all stood there staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity before anyone moved or spoke. Callie had no idea what was going on but she really wanted to get Brooke and Arizona, especially Arizona away from the red head who had caused this tremendous upset in her evening. Callie and Brooke tense up as they notice the red head take a step in the direction of Arizona.

"Arizona, I…" the stranger in the room was interrupted by Arizona raising a hand and shaking her head.

"Don't! You need to leave and I don't just mean the hospital, I mean Seattle. You're not welcome here" Callie had never seen a look so cold on anyone let alone her sweet Arizona. It made her blood boil that this red headed vixen could take all of the life and joy out of those beautiful eyes that she loved to get lost in.

"Come on you two, let's go" Arizona motioned for Callie and Brooke to follow them out of the lab, it took them a few seconds to register her request but once they did both of them scurried off after the blonde with the bouncing curls.

As they swiftly exited the room they passed Cristina who was still standing outside the door and Callie heard her mumble a quick apology to Brooke who was almost at a run trying to keep up with Arizona, Brooke gave Cristina a reassuring pat on the back and kept on going.

Callie broke into a sprint to catch up with Arizona who had stopped just outside the hospital. When she caught up with her all Callie wanted to do was throw her arms around her shaking girlfriend but she could tell that Arizona would not be very receptive to that right now, so she just tried to show her lover a how much she cared with her eyes. Callie could see a glint of recognition in Arizona's eyes but that soon faded when she began to speak.

"Can I speak to my sister for a minute please?" was all that she said and she didn't make eye contact with Callie which broke her heart a little. Callie knew that something bad had happened between her and the mystery woman but she also knew that Arizona would tell her in her own time so she gave a quick nod and began heading back to her apartment.

This had turned out to be a terrible night and all Callie wanted to do was curl up in bed with the woman she loves but as she looked back at the conversation the two sisters were currently involved in she didn't think that was going to be much of an option tonight.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

"Have you told Callie about Lauren?" Brooke raises a brow sceptically.

"Of course I did. I don't have secrets from Calliope" Arizona knew that Brooke wasn't going to believe a word she said but the truth was she had told Callie about Lauren she just hadn't told her the entire story. Callie was new to this life and Arizona hadn't wanted to scare her away with the bad parts before she had a chance to experience the good parts.

"You're a liar! If you had told Callie everything she would've let me kill that bitch yesterday instead of holding me back and you know it" Arizona could tell that Brooke was beyond mad by now, there was no point trying to argue with her. Plus, she was right; Callie would have let Brooke kill Lauren. She may have even given her a hand but she absolutely at the very least would have helped her hide the body.

"Come on Brooke, she's your best friend. She's always been your best friend. She did what she thought she had to do. I was hurt but I'm fine now, I've moved on. I think it's about time you moved on too " Arizona had always known that she hadn't been the only one hurt by Lauren's actions, but it was becoming more and more obvious that perhaps Brooke had been hurt the most by this whole mess.

"Don't pull that crap on me Arizona, and YOU are my best friend! You've always been my best friend; you will always be my best friend. Lauren was a mistake that unfortunately we both had to make and I regret ever bringing her into our lives" it suddenly hit Arizona that Brooke had always blamed herself for all of the pain that Lauren had caused. Her little sister had taken on all the burdens of every action each of the Robbins kids ever took. Although Arizona was the eldest of the three children it was indeed Brooke who had taken on all of their burdens.

Arizona would never forget the day Danny told his family he was joining the army but they day that was really burnt into her memory was when her mother and Aunts had decided to hold and intervention to stop Danny from shipping out.

_Arizona had come home from New York at the request of her mother, she was 28 but still found that her mother had this scary hold over her. Her mother had been extremely vague about her reasons for asking Arizona to come home but it seemed serious so she had dutifully complied._

_Walking up the steps to her childhood home brought a lot of mixed emotions for Arizona. She had really missed her parents and this house but there were a lot of things here that she was glad to be rid of. Arizona didn't really have many childhood friends and there weren't any that she kept in contact with, she had had a pretty rough time of it growing up so she had concentrated on her studies so that she could leave and go to a place where her eccentricities would not only be accepted but embraced and cherished. _

_So as she entered her childhood home she was conflicted with emotions of joy at being in a house that held so many memories but she couldn't shake that icky feeling that somehow she was going backwards instead of forwards._

"_Arizona baby, you're here!" her mother enveloped her in a loving embrace as soon as she stepped foot in the front door._

"_Hi mamma! So what's with all the secrecy?" Arizona knew that her mother wasn't going to tell her until she was ready but she had to try and get it out of her anyway._

"_You'll find out soon enough. You're sister is still in bed. Go and tell her to get up, it's almost time" Arizona stood there staring at her mother as she fussed about taking Arizona's coat off and placing it on the coat rack._

"_Brookie's here? Mom, what's going on? You're not sick are you? Or daddy?" she was getting really worried now. Brooke was in her last year of medical school and was due to start her internship in the fall, so for her to be here was a very big deal and Arizona didn't like this one bit._

"_Oh for Goodness sake Arizona, no one is sick. Brookleigh arrived last night and your brother should be here any minute now so run up stairs and get your sister before she sleeps the day away" and with that Katherine Robbins fluttered off into the kitchen._

_As Arizona ascended the large spiral staircase that reminded her so much of her youth she thought she heard her mother mumbled something like "how in the world did I raise three drama Queens?" Arizona giggled to herself as she continued up the stairs._

_She quickly placed her bags in her old room. It made her smile that her mother hadn't touched it since the day she left. The position of the room was exactly the same; even her bed spread was the same one from her youth. Arizona could hear her mother talking downstairs to whom she could only assume was her baby brother Daniel so she quickly went to retrieve her sister._

_As she creaked open the bedroom door she saw that Brooke's room also hadn't changed and it made her laugh out loud at the sight of her now 21 year old sister sleeping in her childhood bed. Brooke must have sensed Arizona's presence because she slowly opened her eyes and within seconds a large grin appeared on her face at the sight of her sister._

"_Well there's my Soul! I was wondering when you were gonna show up" Brooke threw her covers off and lazily stretched out, she was wearing nothing but a pair of boy leg underpants. Growing up the youngest Robbins sister had never been one to be bashful and Arizona grinned to herself as she realised that not much had changed._

"_Good mornin' heart! Or should I say afternoon?" Arizona crossed the room to open the curtains and let a little light into the unusually dark room._

"_It's like 11am, which is in no way the afternoon. Plus a girl can't get any sleep around here with that mutt howling all night. Did you know daddy went out and got himself a dog?" Brooke was now sitting up in bed as she leant over to the dresser and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it expertly she offered it to Arizona who kindly took what was being offered. Brooke promptly lit herself another one and both sisters inhaled deeply together._

"_Yeah, he told me. Maybe if you called home more often you'd know things" Arizona continued to puff on her cigarette and she opened the window to let some of the smoke out of the room. Brooke simply waved off Arizona last comment and gave her a 'yeah yeah' look before jumping up and throwing some clothes on her body messily._

"_Let's get this show on the road shall we?" Brooke crossed the room to the window where Arizona was standing and threw her cigarette out the window before clumsily stamping on her shoes and tying her hair in a messy pony tail._

"_Brookie?" Arizona spoke solemnly as she stopped her sister just before she exited the room._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Do you think it's bad?_

"Yeah, it' bad" Arizona's solemn look was now mirrored in that of her younger sister's.

* * *

_Situated around the table were Arizona's two aunts on her mother's side and her dad's sister. There were also three of her cousins that were present. The fact that her dad was nowhere to be seen was really making Arizona nervous; she kept swapping worried glances with Brooke but her little sister just kept shrugging her shoulders because she was just as clueless._

"_Okay we're all here today because last week our Danny decided to join the army" Katherine Robbins was speaking in her regal voice, the way she did to her church group or to her tea party friends that consisted of fellow army wives, a lot of which were now widowed. Taking a look over at her little brother who had now hung his head and was bracing himself for what they all now knew was coming._

"_Danny, you're mother has asked us all here today to tell you how much we love you and to tell you that there really is no pressure for you to join the army to impress your father. Daniel will love you no matter what, he would much prefer his son be here safe than in some third world country fighting for his life" Arizona's Aunt Jacqueline went first, she went on and on about how it wasn't his responsibility to uphold the Robbins family name in the service. She spoke about how it would crush his mother if anything were to ever happen to him and how he needed to be around for his two sisters. Arizona watched as everyone at the table took a turn at trying to convince Danny that he had made the wrong decision. Danny didn't say a word._

_Katherine sobbed into her napkin and her aunts wiped stray tears from their eyes. The cousins had a group speech prepared and it sounded as though it had been written for them but still, Danny said nothing. _

_Katherine talked about the day he was born and how he was her only son, how her girls had grown and moved away but a mother's son should never go far from home. She begged and pleaded; she was hysterical and had to be stopped mid speech by her older sister. Then, finally it was Arizona turn. She didn't even know what to say, this had all come as a huge surprise to her because in all honesty she hadn't really been surprised when Danny had announced his joining the army so instead of trying to guilt him or convince him that he was wrong she simply spoke from her heart._

"_I didn't know that this was the reason we were all called back home but I'm glad because I don't know if I would have gotten the opportunity to say this otherwise. I am so proud of you Danny, I'm proud of the man that you've become but more than that I'm proud of the man that you're still striving to be. You light up a dark world Danny and I don't know what you should do but I do know that I don't want you to go. I don't want to have to sit up worrying every night the way we did when we were kids and I don't want to have to tell my kids stories about their uncle Danny because they'll never get to meet you. I don't know what else to say. I love you and I want you to be safe." Arizona found herself choking back the tears, although she felt guilty as she looked across the table at her little brother and noticed that he too was crying she was grateful that she had gotten the opportunity to say her peace to her brother because who knew how this would all turn out._

_Katherine was beaming at Arizona with pride and gratitude as all eyes fell upon Brooke whose turn it was to speak. She was pale and shaking, if Arizona didn't know better she would have thought that her little sister was about to vomit. Silence filled the air for what seemed like an eternity, Arizona watched as her brother and sister looked into each other's eyes and Arizona had to brace herself because she knew what was coming._

"_Brookleigh, don't you have something you'd like to say to your brother?" Katherine was now looking at Brooke expectantly, Arizona noticed the glint of anger in her mother's eyes but she also noticed the silent pleading in her brother's, something else that didn't go unnoticed was how Brooke reached under the table for Danny's hand causing him to relax slightly._

"_No" Brooke's voice was barely above a whisper._

"_No? You have nothing to say to your twin brother who thinks he's going off to war?" Katherine was standing up now and although she wasn't yet screaming Arizona had no doubt that it was coming._

"_He IS going to war mom. He's made up his mind and just for something new for this family, I'm going to support his decision. I'm not going to be a part of this ridiculous bullying session. Danny is brave and he's honourable and as much as you don't want to admit it to yourself mom, he's a soldier, just like daddy" Brooke was standing too now and the looks that were shooting between Arizona's sister and her mother were enough to frighten off the cousins and all but one of the Aunts. _

"_Brookleigh please, you know that you are the only one he'll listen to. If you tell him not to go he won't. You know he won't" Katherine was sobbing and begging but Arizona could tell that Brooke wasn't going to budge on this. _

"_I'm sorry mom, but this is Danny's decision" Danny took hold of Brooke's hand once again and squeezed it as if he were thanking her._

"_You have always been the selfish one Brookleigh but this, this is downright disgusting! You're happy to send your brother off to war to be killed, shot down like a dog. If he dies it's on your head you hear me?" and with that final blow Katherine scurried out of the dining area and up the stairs to what Arizona gathered would be her bedroom._

_Their Aunt Jacqueline rushed off to find their mother while the three siblings stood there in silence none of them sure what to say, Arizona was the first to interrupt the eerie silence._

"_She didn't mean what she said Brooke, she's just scared. You know that right?" Arizona was trying to fix the damage that her mother had just done to her family by saying something she knew Brooke was never going to believe and she herself wasn't even sure of how true it was. All she did know was that from this moment on her family would be changed forever, no matter how things turn out with Danny._

"_It doesn't matter Arizona. And you just don't die ok?" Brooke was now letting her tears flow freely. Arizona knew that Brooke was just as scared of losing Danny as the rest of them were, maybe even more so but she knew him well enough to know that this was what he wanted and she had made a pact with herself to support him no matter what._

"_I will I promise"_


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26**

**ARIZONA**

Four months after the unsuccessful intervention put together by Arizona's mother her brother Danny shipped off to Iraq. He never came back.

As Arizona stood there listening to her sister go on and on about Lauren she felt the urge to wrap her baby sister up in her arms and tell her everything was going to be okay, just like she used to when Brooke was a baby or when she would wake up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare she had had. So she did. She stepped forward and she pulled her into the tightest embrace she could muster. At first Brooke had gone stiff and tense at the contact but after a few seconds her body relaxed into the embrace and shortly after Arizona felt tears falling on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry" Brooke was now sobbing into Arizona blonde curls; she didn't care though and continued to squeeze her sister tighter, rubbing her back soothingly.

"It's not your fault. None of this was your fault okay? Lauren did what she did because she was scared and selfish; it had nothing to do with you. This was not your fault, you hear me?" Arizona was getting choked up now too but she had to make Brooke realise that all of the world's problems didn't rest upon her shoulders.

"If I hadn't brought her into our lives then none of this would have happened. You can say this isn't my fault as much as you want Arizona and I know that you believe that but I pushed her on you, I always made her come to our house instead of going to her house because I knew you were home. There are so many other things that I did to make it impossible for you to of said no" it was clear that Brooke was intent on taking full responsibility for the demise of Arizona's relationship with Lauren but there was a lot of things that happened in that relationship and most of them had nothing to do with Brooke.

"Look, I loved Lauren once and I don't regret that relationship. I took a chance and I got burnt, badly. But that's not on you. I'm not going to let you take on the responsibility for that. If it weren't for you I don't think I would have survived it. So I don't want to hear another word about how all of this is your fault okay?" Arizona had taken Brooke by the shoulders firmly almost as if to shake some sense into her.

"Okay but just promise me that you're going to tell Callie. Lauren isn't going to go away that easily so you need to tell Callie everything" Brooke was almost pleading with Arizona at this point and she knew her sister was right. She did need to tell Calliope, she just wasn't sure how well she was going to take it

"I will I promise"

* * *

**CALLIE**

It had been over three hours since Callie had seen Arizona. The orthopaedic surgeon had left the hospital to give her girlfriend some time to speak with her sister but she was really starting to worry now. Callie had seen the icy demeanour that had taken over Arizona's delicate features the second the blonde had laid her brilliant blue eyes upon this red headed devil. It seemed almost wrong for Callie to be harbouring this kind of hatred for a woman she knew nothing about, yet she did. She did hate her. She hated her with every fibre of her being and it wasn't because she was Arizona's ex, which undoubtedly she was but it was because this red head had come into Callie's life like a hurricane and swept away every little piece of the Arizona Robbins that the brunette knew and loved.

Callie was scared that this woman had that much power over her girlfriend. All she wanted to do was take Arizona into her arms and make all of her troubles go away, the way she had done for Callie so many times before but she wasn't answering her phone and when Callie had called Brooke to find out what was going on she had said that she hadn't seen Arizona in at least two hours, so where the hell was she? Brooke has suggested that she had perhaps gone to take a rest in an on-call room.

Callie knew that Arizona liked to be alone when she was processing things so she assumed that Brooke was probably right, although it didn't really make her feel any better. She decided to send Arizona another text before heading to bed but just as she was typing up her message her phone began to buzz. Callie's heart was racing hoping that it was her girlfriend but instead of seeing Arizona's name appear on her screen she saw that it was a text from Cristina.

_Blondie's with me, letting of a little steam. _

_Don't wait up,_

_Yang x_

Callie let out a relieved breath as she read Cristina's text; at least she knew that Arizona was safe but she also knew that if Arizona was hanging out with Cristina she wasn't in the mood to talk. Cristina hated to hear about other people's problems and often covered up her own which Callie knew would be exactly what Arizona was looking for tonight. They were both probably down at Joe's shooting Tequila and dancing it out, they would come home and messily stumble in the door but they would come home. The thought of this brought a smile to Callie's face as she realised that this was Arizona's home and she would be returning, even if she was going through something that Callie didn't understand and even if she didn't want to talk about it right now she would be back because they shared a life together.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

Arizona was really beginning to feel the effects of the six Tequila shots she had downed in the last hour, she knew that she wasn't completely drunk but she was definitely feeling a little light headed. As Cristina motioned for Joe to bring them another round of shots Arizona salted her hand and picked up her lime ready for her shot. When Joe placed their shots in front of them both Cristina and Arizona licked, sipped and sucked.

"Hey Blondie, you drunk enough to dance with me yet or what?" Arizona heard Mark ask as he slithered up beside her and held out his hand, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as Arizona took hold of it.

"Hmmm… I think I might be actually" Arizona returned his grin with a dimply one of her own as he pulled her onto the dance floor. She was a little shocked as Mark pulled her in close and began to sway to the music. It wasn't a slow song or anything and he wasn't holding her in an awkward or sexual way, but he was holding her exactly the way the male in a partner dance is supposed to. Arizona knew this because she had studied ballroom dancing growing up, the look on Mark's face was one of shock also as Arizona took a stance showing that she also knew how to dance.

As the two surgeons began a rhythmic battle on the dance floor all eyes in the bar were on them. Arizona saw Cristina sitting at the bar watching them intently, she had a sly grin on her face and Arizona knew that she was never going to live this down but she didn't really care. Arizona was having fun; she never thought she would say this but Mark Sloan really was a fun guy to be around. When she had first met him she didn't see how Callie could be best friends with this intrusive, cocky, immature man-child but tonight Mark have proved himself to be the type of guy you want around when you're feeling down.

* * *

Dancing with Mark Sloan at 2am was not where Arizona had thought her night would lead, well not when it had started anyway but this hadn't turned out to be so bad after all. Surprisingly, the two most unlikely people had made her feel a hundred times better than she had felt a mere few hours ago.

Seeing Lauren again had had a strange effect on Arizona, of course she had felt all the expected emotions of shock, anger and hurt but she also felt the very unexpected feeling of nostalgia. This shocked her and it was perhaps why she had been avoiding Calliope tonight. She knew that if she went back to the apartment after her talk with Brooke she would have to explain everything and Callie would ask how she FELT about Lauren's sudden reappearance, but the truth was Arizona didn't know how she felt. Arizona wasn't sure she was able to feel much of anything.

She sipped on her third beer of the night, trying to wash away the taste of the ten tequila shots she had downed whilst trying to keep up with Cristina and suddenly it hit her that Lauren had taken something from her. She had taken something that perhaps no one would ever be able to give back to her, maybe not even her Calliope. The thought of this created a tight feeling in the blonde's chest and Arizona thought she might pass out from the lack of oxygen her brain was receiving as she began to have a panic attack. She made her way to the bathroom before anyone could notice what was going on with her.

She swung open the door to the room that held one of her fondest memories. Right here where she stood was the exact spot she and Callie had shared their first kiss, the start of the rest of her life had begun right here and in that moment Arizona knew what she had to do. She had to see Callie.

* * *

**CALLIE**

It was 2:15am and still Callie hadn't managed to get a wink of sleep. Her entire body was aching from the gruelling surgeries she had performed that day, but the pains in her body were nothing compared to the pains in her heart as she lay there thinking about the love of her life in pain somewhere with only Cristina Yang to comfort her.

The raven haired beauty's heart almost beat out of her chest at the sound of her message tone. She began frantically searching her room for her blackberry before she realised that she was clutching it in her hand. Callie's heart soared when she saw who the message was from…

_I need you - A x_

Was all the message read and Callie felt like she was losing her mind as she tried to think of where her girlfriend could be, but as she was throwing on her sweats and a hoodie it suddenly hit her where she would be.

* * *

Callie felt all eyes on her as she stumbled into Joe's. '_This is new' _she thought, it's not every day you get people stumbling INTO a bar at 2:30am in the morning.

"Torres! Where the hell have you been?" Mark called out drunkenly from the bar. Callie noticed Cristina dancing around by herself on the dance floor. They were the only people left in the bar except for Alex Karev who seemed to be sulking in the corner. _'What was this? The lonely hearts club?" _Callie thought to herself.

"Where is she?" Callie knew she was being a little short with her best friend which was unnecessary but she just really needed to get to Arizona.

"Took herself to the ladies a little while ago" Callie barely waited for him to finish his sentence before dashing towards the bathroom.

"You should let Blondie our more often. She dances like a Goddess you know?" Callie heard Mark call out to her just before she reached the door.

"I know" Callie replied in a whisper as she opened the door. She knew that Mark wasn't able to hear her but she needed to acknowledge his comment out lour because Arizona was indeed a Goddess when she danced.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

She heard the door to the bathroom swing open as she sat in the far cubicle, head in hands. Her heart almost stopped when she heard that voice.

"Arizona?"

The blonde instantly flicked the door open with her foot to reveal her lover. Arizona couldn't help but marvel at how amazingly sexy Calliope looked in her sweat pants and hoodie. The way the black material of the pants hugged her long legs, showing off her perfect curves and the way the hoodie stopped about a centimetre before the pants began leaving the smallest amount of exposed skin showing, it was all Arizona could do to stop herself from drooling.

Arizona knew that she was feeling super horny right now because of her extremely inebriated state, but she also knew that Callie had this effect on her no matter what the circumstances were. She hadn't noticed that she was smiling until her cheeks began to hurt and she hadn't noticed she was staring to intently her absolutely, drop dead gorgeous girlfriend until she heard the Latina's voice break her from her thoughts.

"What have I told you about undressing me with your eyes in public?" Callie shot her a smile that made Arizona's head spin, the wink that followed that heavenly smile only further heightened her already steadily rising libido. She couldn't take it anymore; the distance between them was killing her so she shot up off the seat and threw herself into Callie's arms. Luckily for her Callie had not had anything to drink tonight and was easily able to catch her and hold her steady.

Not wanting to waste another moment Arizona pulled her dark haired beauty in a passionate kiss. As their lips touched they moved slowly and gently against each other due to Arizona's current intoxication and Callie's slight trepidation. As Arizona softly flicked her tongue out over Callie's bottom lip she felt the brunette moan into the kiss and tighten her grip around the blonde's waist, wasting no time at all heating things up Arizona bit down gently on her lovers bottom lip before using her tongue to sooth the now swollen flesh. She wasn't about to stop there though, soon she found her tongue begging for entry into her girlfriends mouth Callie had eagerly accepted Arizona's tongue into her mouth and had already begun to slide hers along it. Their tongues were taking a up a slow rhythm against one another, just the way their bodies were beginning to grind perfectly against one another.

Before Callie knew what was happening Arizona had slid a hand into her sweats and was now ruffling through her damp curls. Using her own body to force the movements of the hand that was now inside Calliope's pants she couldn't help but grin to herself when she sees Callie doing everything she can to keep her eyes open. Arizona continues to grind into Callie allowing her fingers to rub circles on her lovers hardening clit. A soft moan escapes the brunette's lips when Arizona begins sucking on her neck, she done with being gentle now and the pressure she is putting on Callie's core with her fingers is matched by the way she bites her lovers neck before running her tongue over it and repeating this motion over and over again.

Arizona knows that her actions are going to leave a mark on Callie's beautiful skin but she doesn't care, in fact the thought of Callie walking around for days with a reminder of this incredibly hot moment was causing a generous amount of moisture to pool between her own legs.

"Arizona" Callie whispers into the blonde's ear before grabbing her head roughly to allow herself access to Arizona's neck and without hesitation she nibbles at her pulse point, teasing her with her tongue then causing the smallest amount of pain by biting down before easing it again. Arizona knew that she had Callie right where she wanted her but she also knew that it wouldn't be long before she had lost all control over this situation so she needed to up the ante.

"Oh. My. God" Callie moaned as Arizona entered her gently with two fingers, Callie was so wet at this point that Arizona thought she might cum in her pants just at the feel of her girlfriends wet core so instead of denying herself that satisfaction she took a hold of the hand that Callie had tangled in her blonde curls and slowly moved it down her body towards her centre. Before long Callie had picked up on Arizona's intentions and her hand no longer needed to be guided, swiftly unzipping Arizona's jeans and expertly sliding her hand down into where it was needed most Callie doesn't feel much in the moody to tease Arizona so she enters her with two finger almost immediately and joins in the rhythm that Arizona has started between them.

"Jesus Calliope" Arizona mutters as she captures the brunette's lips with her own.

Pumping her fingers in and out of her lover's core, Arizona feels Callie doing the same to her and as they pick up the pace she feels that Callie is getting close so she adds a third finger and continues thrusting a little harder than before whilst rubbing gentle circles on her girls clit with her thumb, taking a hint Callie follows Arizona's lead. This added pressure between them was causing them both to moan softly in the others ear and within seconds Callie was seeing stars, her legs were giving out and every muscle in her body seemed to be contracting. Although she was having one of the strongest orgasms of her life she had managed to keep up the pace of her fingers inside her lover, knowing that it always took Arizona just that little bit longer to reach her ecstasy. However, Arizona was well and truly pushed over the edge when she felt the juices from Callie centre spill out over the hand that was still pumping rhythmically inside her. Nothing in this world was sexier to Arizona Robbins than the thought of Calliope Torres cuming all over her hand or in her mouth.

With one last thrust Arizona's whole body was sent into a state of bliss and she felt her own juices flowing out of her which in turn caused Callie to peak a second time with more warm liquid erupting form her sacred centre.

The stood there panting and trying to catch their breath, holding onto one another just waiting until it was safe to move without falling over. Once their laboured breathing had calmed down slightly Arizona decided to slowly remove her finger from inside the woman she loved causing about a thousand tiny shocks to go through Callie's body as her eyes fluttered shut.

Arizona waited for Callie to open her eyes again before she performed her trademark move. Once she had caught a glimpse of those stunning brown eyes she flashed the most seductive smile she could muster and licked her fingers clean, tasting the sweetness that was undeniably Calliope. Upon seeing this another shock wave had taken over the brunette's body and although Arizona was now only touching Callie with one hand that was drawing languid circles on her lower back the orthopaedic surgeon couldn't control her body as another intense orgasm shook her to the core.

Arizona had to catch her girlfriend before she fell to the ground, she held Callie tight against herself as she laughed huskily into the brunette's ear before pulling away and placing a tender kiss on her lady's lips.

"I'll see you at home baby" Arizona stalked out of the bathroom leaving Callie to compose herself.

This hadn't exactly been what Arizona had planned when she texted her girlfriend, she had planned on telling Callie everything that had gone on between her and Lauren but her horny drunken state had seriously prevented that serious conversation from taking place. Arizona wasn't complaining though because that moment in there just now was one of the hottest most erotic moments of her entire life and she couldn't wait to get home so they could continue to rock each other's worlds all night long. Lauren and all of the drama that she was sure to bring into their lives could stay in the past for one more night.


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27**

Author: jazzkintz

Rating: NC-17 (for later entries)

Pairing: Callie/Arizona

Disclaimer: I own nothing. No profits here. All characters belong to Shonda Rhimes

Summary: I've began writing what I think is going on in the lives of the characters when we don't see them on the screen. I am trying my best to keep up with what is happening in the show as I write. No beta, all mistakes are mine. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!!!

**CALLIE**

Callie woke with a fright when she heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen. Looking over to the other side of the bed she noticed that Arizona wasn't laying next to her like she'd hope she would be and as Callie scanned their bedroom her girlfriend was nowhere to be seen. The dark haired beauty sighed to herself as she began to stretch out her sore muscles. Arizona had really given her a work out last night, or should she say this morning? The perky blonde had always been a dynamite lover but this was different for them, although Callie had some of the most intense orgasms of her life last night there was a tenderness that was missing from Arizona's touch and it was replaced by a detached hunger that had scared Callie a little.

She tried to bring up the whole red head thing but Arizona had brushed her off and said they would talk in the morning. Well it was now morning so Callie launched herself out of bed and threw herself into a hot shower before exiting her room to go and greet her girlfriend who was making an unbelievable amount of noise in the kitchen.

"Where does Blondie keep her perky potions?" Callie was shocked to see that it wasn't Arizona that had been making all that commotion; it was in fact her roommate Cristina. Callie looked on in utter confusion as Cristina riffled through the cupboards and drawers almost frantically.

"What are you talking about?" it was way too early in the morning for Cristina's crazy antics and the fact that Arizona had up and left before they had had a chance to talk was making her even more cranky than usual.

"You know, the stuff she drinks. The source of all that perkiness. Where is it?" Callie could see that Cristina was becoming desperate but the brunette really had no idea what her grumbling roommate was talking about. As far as Callie was aware all of Arizona's perkiness was just something she was born with.

"I have no idea Cristina. Where is Arizona anyway? Did you hear her leave?" knowing that asking this question was probably a waste of time since Cristina never hears anything when she's asleep and by the looks of things Arizona left a while ago.

"Yeah B. Robbins came by to get her. Today's the day. Which is why I need to find where your sneaky little girlfriend has hidden her perky juice" Cristina began searching the cupboards and drawers a second time hoping she'd just missed it the first time.

"The Hudson surgery is today?" Callie was shocked by this news, Rachel Hudson had been living at Seattle Grace Mercy West for the past three months and the orthopaedic surgeon knew that the surgery was fast approaching but she hadn't been prepared for it to be today.

"Yeah they're taking the babies out today so all teams are on standby" it seemed that Cristina had given up looking for Arizona's 'perky juice' and was now pouring herself a large bowl of cereal. Usually her roommate would have nagged her into making her something more substantial to eat but after being witness to some of the events of last night Cristina deemed it an appropriate time to show a little consideration. Callie was grateful.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you at the hospital then" and with that final phrase Callie gathered her belongings and began heading towards the door.

"I don't have to be in for a while so when you get there ask Blondie where she keeps her stash" Callie nodded her head once at Cristina to acknowledge that she had heard her.

"Oh and Cal?" Callie turned back toward Cristina expectantly.

"Don't worry about the red head. She's got nothing on you" upon finishing the nicest thing she had ever said to Callie, probably the nicest thing Cristina had ever said to anyone ever she popped her earphones in and went back to noisily eating her cereal.

Callie couldn't help but smile as she exited her apartment, Cristina was right this crazy red head had nothing on her because she was Calliope Torres, badass Ortho God and because she had one thing this mysterious woman didn't and that was the love of Arizona Robbins.

* * *

She'd been at the hospital for barely ten minutes when she spotted a familiar head of blonde curls bounding down the hallway. Arizona still had a joyous energy about her even after an intense night last night, even after she had gotten practically zero hours of sleep. Callie was beginning to wonder whether Cristina's 'perky juice' theory had more merit than the brunette had originally given it credit for.

"Morning baby" Arizona greeted her with a full dimpled smile and unlike last night this smile reached her eyes.

"Good morning beautiful. Big day today huh?" Callie couldn't help but grin like an idiot when Arizona leant in and placed a tender kiss on the dark haired surgeon's full lips.

"Yeah, I'm excited. A little nervous but mostly excited. I'm going to change lives today Calliope" the smile that was now present on the blonde's stunning face was enough to make Callie's heart melt not to mention the way Arizona said her name, it got her every time.

"Yes, you certainly are. but just so you know, you change MY life every day" it took every ounce of will power Callie had left not to take Arizona into her arms and start making out with her right there in the hospital hallway. Callie saw unshed tears pooling in her girlfriends eyes as she reached out and took hold of her hand. Arizona linked their fingers together and was about to say something before she was interrupted by a noisy pager beeping on her hip.

"I have to go, they're ready for me. Wish me luck" Arizona dropped her hand away from Callie's and the brunette felt a physical pain in her chest at the loss of contact but the way the PEDS Attending was looking at her quickly took away that pain.

"Good luck! Oh and before I forget Cristina was ripping the house apart this morning trying to find your _perky juice?_" Callie felt the need to air quote the perky juice part before laughing at the image of her roommate earlier.

"Thank you, I love you and tell Cristina I made her some, it's in the fridge. Actually, I'll tell her" Arizona whipped out her cell phone before giving Callie another quick kiss on the lips and rolling away, typing on her iphone.

"Wait… that's a real thing? I thought she was joking" Callie called out to her girlfriend but all the received as a response was two hands in the air and a shrug.

* * *

**CRISTINA**

She was still sitting at the counter where she had been when Callie left half an hour earlier but she had accumulated a massive pile of text books that she was now flicking through when her phone began to buzz. Almost falling off her chair due to her eagerness to get to her phone she almost cheered when her phone read '_1 new message from Blondie'_. She opened the message and the text read:

_Made you a batch of the cure. _

_It's in the fridge._

_Enjoy! – Arizona x_

Cristina sent a quick reply thanking Arizona before busting open the fridge to reveal that there was indeed a flask sitting on the bottom shelf with a post it stuck to it. The hot pink post it had a message scrawled on it in a delicate penmanship.

_Thought you might need a little pick-me-up this morning._

_Thanks for last night._

_-Arizona x_

Taking barely any notice of the note she threw it in the trash before gulping down the sweet liquid. Although she had had barely three hours sleep and had woken up with the biggest hangover known to mankind, she knew that within a few minutes her brain would begin feeling a little more awake and her body would ache a little less. This stuff was indeed 'the cure' for a hangover; nothing was going to stand in her way today. Today Cristina Yang was going to help change the face of medicine.

* * *

**CALLIE**

As Callie began scrubbing out of her second knee replacement for the day, she watched the two interns and Jackson Avery scrub out at the speed of light and rush out of the scrub room, almost knocking Teddy Altman over in the process.

"I have no clue what's up with them. They were all so antsy to get out of the ER. I've never had an intern turn down an opportunity at cutting before" Callie spoke to Teddy as she began scrubbing in for her surgery.

"They're probably on their way up to the NICU. Every man and his dog is up there trying to catch a glimpse of the Hudson twins" Teddy informed Callie.

"They're done? The babies are out? Wow. So do you know how it went? Are the babies okay? Did anyone say how long they were going to wait until they separate them?" Callie was rambling, she was so nervous for Arizona that she was barely able to concentrate on her own surgeries this morning. This was a big deal, it could make or break Arizona's entire career which meant that Callie had a lot riding on this too. All Teddy could do was laugh at Callie's ridiculous rambling, probably not even catching a word of it because she was speaking too fast.

"I'm sure Arizona wants to tell you all about it. I saw her heading toward the cafeteria about ten minutes ago" Teddy gave Callie a knowing grin before she turned her attention to the running water.

Callie finished up as quick as she could and began rushing out the door in the same manner the interns had only minutes before but before she exited she turned back to speak to Teddy.

"Hey Teddy, would you like to come over to our place for dinner one night?" Callie knew that Arizona really liked Teddy and had asked on numerous occasions for her to make more of an effort to get to know her, so this was Callie's way of honouring her girlfriend's wishes. Generally Mark and Cristina were Callie's only friends, Owen had joined also become somewhat of a friend since he began dating her roommate but Callie didn't particularly care much for small talk and she really didn't like the first awkward stages of getting to know someone. Arizona however thought you could never have too many friends and although the perky blonde had been accepted into Callie's friendship circle the orthopaedic surgeon thought it might be nice for Arizona to have a friend like Teddy and it seemed that Teddy could probably do with a little bit of Arizona in her life.

"Yeah, I'd love to. That's sounds really great" Callie could tell how sincere Teddy's smile was, she seemed genuinely touched by the offer and it made Callie feel kind of bad that she hadn't made the effort to befriend Teddy sooner.

"Okay well, I'll talk to Arizona and we'll organise a night. Good luck" Callie wished Teddy good luck on her surgery and headed out the door toward the cafeteria.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

Arizona sat in the cafeteria surrounded by her friends who were all genuinely excited to hear about the Hudson babies and how everything was progressing. She told them that the c-section had gone completely as planned, Brooke being the brilliant surgeon she is of course made sure of that. They all listened intently as she spoke about how the girls were connected at the chest, but for now they seemed healthy enough so the surgery to separate them has been put off for a few weeks. They want to make sure the girls are at their absolute strongest before they attempt the risky procedure, due to their excellent health they are able to wait until the babies are a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger. The longer they can hold off on this surgery the better their chances are at being successful. Alex Karev is currently keeping a close eye on the twins, monitoring their stats to make sure nothing goes wrong. All of the teams have been put on standby in case they need to move the procedure forward.

Children are resilient but they also crash hard and fast, often taking a turn for the worst when least expected so everyone needs to be on their game if this is going to work. As Arizona animatedly told the story of the birth of the babies and how they had treated them and sent the up to the NICU Owen, Cristina, Derek and even Mark listened to her intently. Once she had finished telling them all about her exciting morning they had moved on to other topics such as Mark mistaking Lexie for a hot new doctor or Derek's first few weeks as interim Chief, they had even touched on the topic of Sloan leaving town.

Everyone at the table had gone quiet when Arizona had asked Mark how he was holding up; clearly they all knew about Callie offering to help Mark raise his grandson. They were all probably wondering whether Arizona knew about it, which of course she did. Callie had been in tears after having to tell Mark that his daughter had skipped town with his unborn grandchild and he would probably never see either of them again. Arizona could see the pain and hurt in Mark's eyes as he tried his best to convince everyone at the table that he was fine and that is was probably for the best.

Most people would expect Arizona to be angry or hurt that Callie had so easily offered her assistance to Mark when he had said he wanted to adopt his grandson but Arizona wasn't hurt by this, she knew that Callie hadn't forgotten about her and she definitely wasn't angry because if Callie hadn't offered to help her best friend to get something he so desperately wanted then she wouldn't be the woman Arizona fell in love with. She knew that if Sloan had decided to stay and allow Mark to adopt her baby Callie would have come to her and they would have talked about it and of course Arizona would have also offered to help Mark in any way she could.

Hospital gossip however, is a terrible thing and there are rumours floating around about Mark and Callie adopting the baby together as in mother and father which was something Callie had certainly not agreed to. She had offered to help him as his best friend and his neighbour because she is Mark's family and as far as Arizona is concerned if Mark is Callie's family than he is her family too, so she would have had no problem with helping Mark find his way as a father. In fact if she had been there when Sloan had told Mark she was leaving and giving the baby up for adoption Arizona thinks she may have done the same thing as Callie. No one but Callie and Arizona and of course Lexie up until recently have been privy to the extreme changes is Mark since the arrival of his pregnant teenage daughter. Arizona truly believes that he would have made a great father to that baby if things had worked out the way he wanted them to and although Callie offered her services to Mark without consulting Arizona she couldn't be mad at her dark haired beauty, a little annoyed perhaps especially since Callie had interrupted her during a surgery to tell her _"You're going to be mad so just remember that I love you. I sort of, maybe kind of told Mark we'd help him raise Sloan's baby"_. So how could a person be mad at such a cute confession? She was however slightly relieved when Sloan skipped town because it meant that she and Callie were off the hook on this one.

The conversations at the table were flowing easy enough even after the awkward Sloan and her baby conversations, until Arizona froze up and suddenly couldn't find her tongue. She noticed a distinctive red head from her past walking toward her and her first instinct was to run but she found that her feet wouldn't move.

"What do you think Robbins?" she knew that Derek was asking her a question but her mouth was not cooperating with her brain and she couldn't seem to drag her eyes away from the approaching red head.

"Earth to Blondie" Mark was waving in front of her face but even that couldn't break her from her dazed state.

"Zone, are you okay?" Arizona felt her sister nudge her gently before they all turned to look in the direction of Arizona's eyes. She knew that Brooke, Cristina and Mark had spotted Lauren straight away because they had all shot up from their seats. Cristina stumbling over her chair to place herself between the red head and the rest of the group, Mark had all but thrown his sandwich across the room and Brooke was practically growling like a lioness whilst taking a firm grip on Arizona's arm.

Cristina had made Lauren's attempt at approaching the table seem futile as she did a little dance to ensure that the red head was never going to get past her. Owen and Derek were now standing too, they had no idea what was going on but they were looking around suspiciously. Arizona hadn't even bothered to get up from her seat; she didn't feel like her legs would be able to carry her.

"Lady, are you ever going to take a hint?" Cristina seemed beyond frustrated by this situation and Arizona had a feeling that the Cardio loving Resident knew more than Arizona had anticipated.

"You're not welcome here, so beat it Red" hearing the protective tone in Mark's voice made Arizona's body feel warm and she looked around the table at her friends only to notice that they had formed a protective circle around her. Somehow this had given her the strength to stand up and as she did, she came face to face with the red head that was standing two metres away.

"You're going to have to talk to me sooner or later" Lauren certainly hadn't lost any of her arrogance that had once been so attractive to Arizona. It was clear that she wasn't going away so Arizona felt it best just to get this over with.

"Fine" Arizona was able to speak for the first time since she had spotted her ex coming towards her. A satisfied smirk appeared on Lauren's face and Arizona could feel Brooke tensing up next to her.

"Ari, are you going to call of your dogs? Or do you want to have this conversation here?" Lauren was being smug which worried Arizona, it meant that she had a plan, something up her sleeve and when Lauren sets her wheels in motions its often disastrous.

"It's okay guys. I got this" Arizona lightly touched her sister on the arm to let her know that she was okay and that she was capable of handling this situation. However, none of her friends moved.

"Seriously guys, thank you but I got this. Go and find Callie, I need to speak to her. Tell her I'll meet her in the PEDS on-call room in half an hour" the last part of that sentence was directed towards Brooke and it had served its purpose and seemed to calm her down slightly.

Arizona made her way over to Lauren touching Mark gently on the shoulder as she passed him, but he grabbed her by the elbow before she could get clear of him and he whispered in her ear.

"You know where I am if you need me" Arizona had never seen Mark so serious before and she suddenly felt all this guilt weigh down on her as she realised that Callie must have told Mark how worried she was , it pained Arizona to know that she was causing Callie to hurt.

"Thanks Mark"

Arizona walks right up to Lauren as confidently as she can but she was taken by surprise when Lauren wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. It was a strange feeling being in Lauren's arms again, Arizona had never thought she would see her again let alone be embracing like this. Her arms were still at her sides and she wasn't participating in this bear hug but that didn't seem to be a deterrent for Lauren.

"I missed you Ari" Lauren whispered into Arizona's ear just before the blonde pulled away violently.

"Don't call me that. You want to talk, so let's go and talk and then you can leave" Arizona stormed off away from Lauren in search of somewhere more private to talk, leaving her friends standing around their table watching from a distance shooting worried glances at one another before reluctantly going about their business.

* * *

**CALLIE**

Callie stood in the door way to the cafeteria as she watched the red head from the day before saunter in from the other side, she also saw her friends jump up to form a protective circle around her girlfriend but then something that made Callie stomach churn happened. Arizona got up and met the red head in the middle of the room; this woman even had the nerve to put her hands all over the perky blonde. Callie was fuming; she couldn't believe her eyes because her girlfriend then proceeded to leave the cafeteria with the devilish red head hot on her heels.

Before long Callie felt a tap on her shoulder and she spun around to see Brooke standing behind her looking just as furious as she was.

"Arizona said she needs to talk to you. She'll meet you in the PEDS on-call room in half an hour" Callie could tell that Brooke wanted to say more but was holding back.

"What's going on Brooke? Is she okay? Who the hell is that red head?" Callie had so many questions she needed the answers to. She wanted to get them from Arizona but if she had to get them from elsewhere that was fine too.

"I honestly don't know what's going on and the red head? Her name is Lauren Bledel and she's the fucking Devil" Callie watched as Brooke stormed off in a rage. Lauren Bledel sounded so familiar to Callie but she just couldn't place who it was. She began searching her memory for stories that Arizona had told her and suddenly it had hit her, Lauren Bledel was Arizona's sister's best friend when they were growing up. Brooke had worked hard to set Lauren and Arizona up when Arizona had gone home from college one summer, it turned out she had been a fabulous match maker because Lauren and Arizona had quickly fallen in love.

Callie remembers Arizona telling her that Lauren was the longest relationship she had ever had. They were together for 8 years; they had had a long distance relationship for the first few years of their relationship but once Arizona had started her Residency in New York Lauren had moved out there to live with her. They lived together in New York for 4 years until one day Arizona had come home to find that Lauren had packed up all of her things and left, without a word. Three months later Arizona read in the paper that Lauren had married some guy Lauren and Brooke used to go to school with.

Callie had hated hearing this story because she knew it was something that had caused Arizona a great deal of pain. Arizona hadn't gone into much detail and if she were being honest Callie had always thought that there was more to the story than what she had been told but she wanted to give Arizona the opportunity to tell her when she was ready. As far as Callie was concerned today would be the day that everything would be put out there in the open, Arizona was going to tell her exactly what the hell was going on whether she wanted to or not.

Forgetting all about lunch Callie decided to go straight up to the PEDS on-call room and wait for Arizona. Maybe have a nap before she got there. She had woken up thinking that today was going to be a good day, how wrong she was.


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 27**

**ARIZONA**

"Are you even listening to me Arizona?" Lauren's angry tone had pulled Arizona from her daze.

The truth was that Arizona wasn't really listening to her ex; she was busy thinking about the worried looks on her friends faces as she walked out of the cafeteria. She was thinking about how terrible Callie must be feeling right now but most of all she was thinking about her baby sister, the one person in this world who had ALWAYS been there for her, the person who knew her better than she knew herself and liked her more than she liked herself. Brooke was the kind of person who would kill and die for those she loves but cross her even just once and you'll have a serious problem. Unfortunately for Lauren she had crossed Brooke in the worst way possible, she had screwed over her sister and to Brookleigh Robbins that was unforgivable and if she had had her way yesterday, punishable by death.

"Honestly Lauren, no I'm not. I really couldn't care less what you have to say but you made it clear you weren't going to leave until you got me alone. So here I am. You're sorry, I get it and I believe you but I don't know what you want me to say to that. You want me to forgive you? Is that what you came here for? Because if that's what it takes to get you to leave then I forgive you" Arizona spoke for the first time since they entered her old apartment that Brooke was now residing in.

"That's not what I'm here for. Well it is, but I'm not just here for your forgiveness. We came here for you" Arizona was confused; she had no idea what Lauren was blabbing about. What the hell does 'we came here for you' mean? And who is WE?

"I love you Arizona. I've always loved you. The years we spent together were the best years of my life. I've never been happier than I was when we were together. We were a family and I fucked it up I know that, but I'm here to fix it" Arizona could see the tears forming in Lauren's eyes and no matter what had happened between them it still felt like a knife in her heart to see Lauren hurting, even if her hurt was self inflicted.

Staring into those eyes that once saw into her soul, it suddenly hit her and she knew exactly what Lauren was talking about but more importantly it had dawned on her who WE was. She found that her mouth had instantly gone dry and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Don't! Don't do this. If you ever cared about me you won't do this" she was praying to a God she was sure existed, asking him to spare her from what Lauren was about to do to her.

"He's here. Do you want to see him?" Arizona felt her whole world spinning out of control, she could have sworn she heard her heart shatter into a million pieces and as Lauren held out her hand Arizona knew that she was helpless.

"Yes" was all the words she could muster as she took a hold of the hand that had once held her heart and still held a significant part of her.

* * *

**CALLIE**

Callie waited in the PEDS on-call room for as long as she could but Arizona hadn't showed. When Callie had been paged to the ER her girlfriend was already 40 minutes late. Now she was sitting alone in their empty apartment and she hadn't seen or spoken to Arizona since the scene she had witnessed in the cafeteria that morning. Arizona was working tonight so Callie wasn't too worried about not hearing from her, she rarely heard from her girlfriend while she was working.

Breaking her from her thoughts was a loud crash that came from outside the apartment door. She got up quickly to check it out, secretly hoping Arizona was home early or at least taking a break. Unfortunately when she opened the door she found her roommate cowered over an enormous pile of books.

"Don't just stand there. Help me get these in the house. Quick before someone sees us" Cristina whispered to Callie angrily.

Callie had absolutely no idea what Cristina was doing with all of these books or why she was wigging out about people seeing her but Callie helped her bring the books inside anyway. Cristina began dumping the book onto the table that she and Arizona had claimed as their 'work station' over the past few weeks. They two of them were crazy over this 'work station', Callie had tried to tidy up the apartment one morning but when Arizona and Cristina had seen that she had cleared off and organised their mess both of them had flown into a rage. She made a mental note to herself never to try and help either of them with their mess ever again.

It was strange how they both seemed to thrive on this organised chaos. So instead of placing the books she was carrying neatly in a pile like she would have liked to, Callie simply threw them onto the pile already created by her messy roommate.

"Did you take all this stuff from the research lab?" Callie quizzed Cristina in shock as she noticed the Seattle Grace Mercy West emblem stamped on all of the books that the crazy woman next to her had brought home.

"Uh… yeah" Cristina replied casually, as if it weren't a big deal that she had just stolen from the hospital. It was a clear rule that no equipment was ever to be taken out of the hospital, books and research items were included in that rule. As Callie sifted through the mess on the 'work station' she noticed that everything had the Seattle Grace Mercy West emblem on it, all the books, the diagrams, voice recorders, 3D models, EVERYTHING had been stolen from the hospital.

"Cristina! All of this stuff is from the hospital. You can't just go around stealing stuff. You could be in some serious trouble for this and you're going to get Arizona in trouble" Callie couldn't believe this, Cristina had very little scruples in life but when it came to her job she generally followed the rules, although lately she had taken to bending those rules. Callie didn't really care if Cristina got herself in trouble but she sure as hell wasn't going to let the unruly Resident take her conscientious girlfriend down with her.

"Oh relax uptight Sally! Who do you think gave me the list of what crap to steal?" Cristina was waving a piece of paper nonchalantly around when Brooke came stumbling into the apartment through the door they had left open, she was carrying a whole heap of equipment from the hospital. Following Brooke into the apartment was Mark then Teddy and lastly Owen, all of whom were carrying stuff clearly stolen from the hospital. Callie watched them in amazement as they all casually greeted her and began handing everything over to Cristina for her to put in its 'organised' place.

"You're not serious? You're all siphoning shit off from the hospital!" it came out as a statement but it was supposed to be a question, no one bothered to answer her. Mark threw himself on the couch and switched the TV on; Owen took himself to the kitchen to pour everyone a drink while Teddy and Cristina began meticulously setting up the work station as if they were about to perform a surgery. How was it that they were all being so casual about this weirdness?

"Okay, so I think we have everything. All we need now is for Robbins to arrive with the rest" Teddy stated to no one in particular, they all looked quite proud of their efforts.

"Where is Zona anyway?" Brooke asked as she came sauntering out of Callie and Arizona's bedroom wearing some of Arizona's clothes. It caused Callie to stop breathing for a second as she caught a glimpse of Brooke; it hadn't really hit her before now how much the sister's really did look alike. Sure Brooke was a little taller; her hair was dirty blonde instead of Arizona's golden colour and her eyes had a tinge of green to them unlike Arizona's unmistakeable oceans of blue but they were so similar in so many other ways. They shared the same lean body; their hips swayed the same way when they walked, with legs to die for and most importantly they both had a smile that could brighten even the darkest of rooms. Brooke also shared a lot of Arizona's mannerisms; they weren't particularly alike in personality but the way they spoke in run-on sentences and the way their pitch got higher when they were excited or the way neither of them could stand having their bouncy curls itching their necks while they were trying to concentrate.

Watching Brooke tie her hair into a messy ponytail Callie couldn't help but smile at the thought of one day having a child with Arizona, who would probably look and act just like Brooke since Arizona had practically raised her. Mark's voice abruptly broke Callie out of her fantasy.

"Yeah where's Blondie? What's the bet she landed herself in the slammer for trying to buy organs on the black market?" Mark could be such a smug bastard sometimes, it really pissed Callie off.

"She's working tonight. What the hell are you people doing with all this stuff anyway?" Callie's curiosity was getting the better of her, she still couldn't believe that Arizona was involved in this but the piece of paper Cristina had showed her definitely had Arizona's delicate penmanship scrawled across it.

"No she's not. Derek gave her the night off" Cristina realised that she had said the wrong thing the second that it had fallen out of her mouth. Everyone in the room had gone awkwardly quiet and Callie knew that they were all thinking the same thing. Arizona had lied to Callie, but why?

Cristina tried to cover up what she had said by rambling off something about her hearing that from Meredith but that Meredith was known to be wrong a lot, especially since becoming all happy and married. Teddy had opted for taking the easy way out and slipped out of the apartment with a quick goodbye. Owen was shuffling around the kitchen pretending not to be in the room while Mark was simply staring at Callie, no doubt waiting for her to explode. Brooke was the first to speak.

"Get you coats on!" she began gathering her things and shoving everyone's jackets at them.

"Where are we going?" Mark asked quizzically.

"To Disneyland. Now come on"

* * *

**CALLIE**

Callie couldn't believe that they were trolling around the city, visiting all the dirty bars of Seattle in search of her missing girlfriend. She didn't even know why she was bothering, after all Arizona had lied to her. She should be mad at her not searching high and low for the blonde who clearly wanted to be alone. Or maybe she didn't want to be alone, maybe she wasn't alone, maybe she was safe wrapped up in the arms of Lauren Bledel. Callie had to physically shake those thoughts out of her mind; Arizona had never done anything to make Callie question her fidelity so she was innocent until proven guilty, right?

It was almost 11 o'clock and they meaning Brooke, Cristina, Mark, Owen and herself had been to three different bars in search of the perky blonde but they had turned up unsuccessful. It was an extremely cold night in Seattle but luckily for them they had managed to get in a few shots of Tequila at the last bar they had visited. It had been Brooke's idea; she felt that they'd need it if they were going to survive the long night that was sure to be ahead of them. At the time Callie had been reluctant but now as she felt the warm tingle of the Tequila was over her body she was grateful for Brooke's advice.

Brooke was the first to burst into the fifth bar of the night. Callie was amazed as she looked around; she didn't even know there were gay bars in Seattle so tonight had been a real eye opener for her and this one seemed like a place Arizona would feel at home in. there were beautiful women everywhere, there weren't any 'man-girls' like there were in the last bar they went to and they were playing decent music. Sure enough, there was a mass of blonde curls sitting at the bar. Every so often a different woman would approach her but the blonde simply dismissed them with a wave of her hand. Callie watched as each one retreated with a hurt look of disappointment on their faces. Rejection was always painful but when it came from someone as amazing as Arizona is was damn near unbearable.

"I think I'll wait outside" Owen gulped as he looked around, he was clearly uncomfortable with the amount of beautiful women surrounding him, he motioned with his head for Mark to follow him but when he didn't Cristina shoved him in the direction of the door. Callie knew Mark was about to protest but she saw Brooke stick out her foot and kick him in the shins before he got the chance and to Callie's surprise he exited the bar with Owen without any further fuss.

"Wait here a second" Brooke waved at Callie and Cristina as she made her way over to the blonde at the bar. Brooke had a fury in her eye that scared Callie a little. They watched on as Brooke stormed up to Arizona and slammed her hand down on the bar causing the obviously drunk blonde to jump and almost fall backwards off her chair. Brooke made no attempt to save Arizona from falling but as Callie gasped she realised that a stunning brunette had caught the Paediatric surgeon.

"Okay thanks for that. Now back up sister!" Brooke snapped at the brunette who had managed to slip her hands down from Arizona's shoulder to her tiny waist. It was a smooth move, something Callie herself would have done.

**BROOKE**

"What the hell are you doing?" Brooke snatched the drink from Arizona's hand as she went to take a sip form it.

"Drink? Bartender! Will you get my baby sister a drink please? She's too uptight. Did you know she thinks I'm the uptight one? Can you believe that?" Arizona slurred her words and the bartender, who also happened to be the only male in the whole place, simply smirked at her before pouring a drink for Brooke.

"Arizona, have you lost your mind? You blew off work to go to a lezzy bar?"

"Oh come on B, lighten up. Drink your drink" Arizona took another shot and went on to wash it down with the beer sitting in front of her. Brooke placed her hands on Arizona's shoulders to try and shake some sense into her.

"Snap out of it. I get it okay. Lauren's back, it's a shock, its… fuck I don't know, its bullshit!" Arizona started rambling in a slurred drunken voice but Brooke could barely understand a word of her sister's drivel. She tried applying more pressure on the blonde's shoulders to calm her and get her to focus on one spot instead of swivelling around all over the place. When this didn't work Brooke decided that drastic measures must be taken and she slapped Arizona across the face. Not too hard but hard enough to shock not only the blonde PEDS surgeon but Callie and Cristina who were watching from the other side of the room with their mouths open.

"I know why she's here Arizona and I know why you're freaking out but seriously you need to snap out of this. Clearly you have a decision to make so for fucks sake, just make it! I don't care which way you go, well no that's a lie. If you chose her I'll be pissed but I'm going to love you anyway. What I'm not going to do is let you sit here and bathe in a bottle of Tequila. Drowning your sorrows in alcohol is for your twenties and you my dear sister hit your thirties a fair few years ago. So grow the hell up and go tell your girlfriend what the fuck is going before I slap you again!" Arizona seemed to gain more focus as she listened to Brooke's rant and her eyes widened in shock at the mention of Callie but Brooke noticed they also shone with joy.

"Calliope's here?" tears were beginning to form in Arizona's eyes as Brooke gestured in the direction of where Callie and Cristina stood.


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 29**

**ARIZONA**

As she stood there at the bar gaping drunkenly at her girlfriend who had obviously been traipsing around the city with her extremely pushy sister, she could still feel the sting in her cheek from where Brooke had slapped her but somehow even that hadn't been able to bring her back down to earth. She felt as though she was floating and realised that she had probably had a few too many shots. Originally she had come here to take the edge off before she went and spoke to Callie, but one drink turned into two drinks and well… here she was hours later still sitting at the bar drinking herself into oblivion.

Arizona took a closer look at Callie's face but instead of finding anger and confusion she found that Callie looked more worried and hurt than anything else. This make Arizona's heart split in two, if there was one thing in this world that Arizona Robbins promised herself she would never do, it's hurt her beautiful Calliope. But that is exactly what she had done over these past two days, she had stood her girlfriend up twice now and refused to speak with her about her problems essentially shutting her out completely, trying to cover up the cracks with sex. Yet, here she was standing there and staring at Arizona with her gorgeous russet brown eyes brimming with tears at the sight of her drunken girlfriend. Arizona just hoped that she could fix things and that the reappearance of Lauren wasn't going to ruin their relationship entirely. There was only one way to find out if this hope had any chance of coming true, she needed to tell Callie everything, from the beginning. She would leave nothing out and she would of course have to tell Callie about HIM which was the part she wasn't sure she was going to be able to say out loud. However hard it would be to talk about what happened 3 years ago Arizona knew that losing Callie would be harder, so she had to try.

The blonde felt a sharp pain in her back, turning to see what it was she realised that her sister was now shoving her in the direction of her girlfriend. Brooke had always been far more physical than Arizona but this was getting ridiculous, however she could tell that this wasn't the time to confront her sister about her rough treatment and realised that in retrospect she probably deserved it. When she still didn't move she felt Brooke shove her again, this time she let out a soft whimper and she felt her knees giving out. She was breaking down; there was nothing she could do. The tears were just about to flow down her cheeks when she felt Brooke grab her shoulders and spin her around to face her. Brooke took a hold of Arizona's face in both of her sturdy surgeon hands before she spoke.

"Listen to me. You are Arizona Robbins! Kick ass surgeon. You save kids lives, but more than that you put people's families back together. You can do this. You can go over there and you can tell that sexy Mexican Goddess of yours everything. I know you can. Now go over there and do it" Brooke gave Arizona a quick kiss on the lips. Most people would find this odd, grown up siblings kissing each other on the mouth but for the Robbins girls it wasn't at all something that they found weird. Growing up their parents would go out to events a lot and when their mother was all dolled up with her makeup done she would come into their bedroom to kiss them goodnight but it would always be on the lips so as not to smudge her lipstick or make marks on the girls' faces. This had become a routine and a habit they had gotten into at an early age and just never really grew out of, this gesture from her sister gave Arizona the strength to begin walking over to her girlfriend.

* * *

**CALLIE**

As she watched Arizona walk unsteadily over to her she felt her heart begin to race. The blonde was always intoxicatingly beautiful but when she was drunk like this there was just a whole other level of freedom to the way she walked, the way she talked and the way she touched. Last night was of course a perfect example of that; however Callie was not prepared to let Arizona blind her with sex tonight. She was going to make her girlfriend talk to her; it had become clear to Callie over the course of their relationship that Arizona didn't much like talking about things that upset her. She would often have a little cry or pick a silly fight with Callie but she didn't like to dwell on a problem for too long. Tonight, Callie wasn't going to let Arizona get away with not talking this time.

As Arizona approached her, Callie felt the hairs on her arms stand up. It never ceased to amaze her how many different reactions her girlfriend could cause her body to have. Arizona looked sad, more than anything she just looked really sad. Seeing Arizona look so broken was worrying her beyond belief. Was this Lauren person the one who really had hold of Arizona's heart? Had Lauren come back for Arizona? Was Arizona so sad because she knew she would soon be breaking Callie's heart?

There were so many different scenarios and questions running through Callie's mind but she had to put them all aside and listen to what her girlfriend had to say or she would drive herself crazy with her thoughts.

"Hey" Arizona spoke in the softest of whispers, if Callie hadn't been looking right at her she might not have even noticed the blonde was speaking. Callie could tell that Arizona was having trouble making eye contact with her. This wasn't looking good.

"Hey. I waited for you in the on-call room but…" Callie was trying her best not to sound angry, she knew that getting all riled up and starting a fight would not help the situation. Right now all she wanted was to be told what the hell was going on.

"I know. I'm sorry. I, I just couldn't. I needed some space, to clear my head" Arizona finally looked up from the spot on the floor that she had been staring intensely at and when Callie finally caught sight of those beautiful blue orbs that she loved so much they were brimming with tears and Callie could see just how intoxicated her girlfriend actually was. She couldn't help but let out a small giggle when she smelt the strong scent of Tequila on the blonde's breath.

" Yes, Tequila always helps CLEAR your head" she knew now probably wasn't the best time to be making jokes but she couldn't help herself, it just slipped out and to her great surprise Arizona also managed to let out a small laugh.

Arizona reached out for Callie's hand and the brunette felt her whole world start spinning. The way the blonde gently took her hand and laced their fingers together was somehow reassuring to the orthopaedic surgeon.

"Can we go home and talk?" Arizona was absentmindedly rubbing circles on the inside of Callie's wrist with her thumb, something she always did when they held hands and Callie had always found comfort in this small ritual of theirs.

"Sure baby, let's go" Callie began leading Arizona to the exit when she felt the blonde stop suddenly and pull her hand from Callie's. When she turned around Arizona had her arms wrapped around a very uncomfortable looking Cristina. Cristina had her arms by her side and was looking to Callie for help as Arizona squeezed her tightly, the young resident made no attempt to participate in the hug that had been thrust upon her.

After a few torturous seconds Arizona let Cristina go, flashed her 1000-watt dimpled smile and once again took hold of Callie's hand as she was led out of the club.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

Arizona watched as her girlfriend paced up and down their apartment. She knew that Callie wasn't going to take this well but the pacing and muttering under her breath had been going on for more than twenty minutes. Callie had asked Arizona to give her a minute to collect her thoughts which she had been happy to oblige her with but this was getting ridiculous. Watching Callie pace up and down was starting to make Arizona feel queasy; the enormous amount of Tequila she had consumed was probably not helping the situation.

"Calliope?" Arizona spoke softly so as not to spook her pacing, muttering girlfriend but when calling her name a few times didn't work she reached out and took hold of Callie's wrist so as to stop her from pacing the full length of the room.

Callie turned toward Arizona her eyes filled with pain; it broke the blonde's heart to see her girlfriend so upset. She expected Callie to yell and scream, to be angry with her but the last thing she expected was to see the luscious brunette cry and look so hurt.

"Calliope please, I know you're mad but please tell me what you're thinking. Preferably in English" Arizona pleaded with Callie.

"I, I don't know Arizona. I just, I want to spend forever with you. I want to be your everything, give you everything. I know it's way too early for this but I think about marrying you one day, of starting a family with you when the time comes. But now I find out that someone else has already given you these things and I just… I'm not mad Arizona, I'm just sad" Callie's tears were now flowing freely and Arizona could think of nothing to do but take the brunette into her arms and hold her tight.

Arizona pulled Callie onto the lounge with her and held her as she sobbed in the blonde's lap. Arizona rubbed soothing circles on her girlfriends back as she let her cry, she herself couldn't hold her tears back anymore and cried with Callie. They spent the next few minutes sobbing together before Arizona noticed that Callie had stopped crying and her breathing had slowed down. She had to make Callie understand that this wasn't her fault, that things with Lauren were the way they were and it had nothing to do with their relationship. Although that wasn't entirely true, if her conversation with Lauren was anything to go by this whole thing had the potential to really affect both of their lives.

Lauren had originally been Brooke's best friend growing up; she was always at the Robbins residence so Arizona had spent a lot of time with her during her high school days. It wasn't until her last year of high school that anything romantic happened between them. Lauren had come to Arizona originally because she wanted to know what it would be like to be with a woman, Arizona had always thought that the red head was insanely hot so she didn't really need much persuasion on the matter. Things eventually became serious, as most of Arizona's casual flings did. It wasn't that she was a serial monogamist or anything, she was quite fine with casual sex but she found that every single person she had a casual fling with ended up falling in love with her and wanting more. Lauren was no exception, only this time Arizona fell for her too, and she fell hard. Arizona had gone off to college only six months after they started dating so their love affair was long distance on and off for the first four years of their relationship, but Arizona had everything planned out.

Lauren ended up going to a college close to home after high school instead of meeting Arizona in New York. Arizona was in her third year of Residency when Lauren showed up on her doorstep one night and told her she was there for good. It was like everything had finally fallen into place, they rented an apartment together and got themselves settled Arizona had never been happier. Then one night Arizona had come home from a late shift at the hospital to find a distraught Lauren crying in their bedroom, the red head then proceeded to tell Arizona that she had been unfaithful and the real reason she dropped out of college and moved to New York was because she was pregnant.

Arizona was angry and hurt but of course Lauren had been unfaithful, they had been having a long distance on and off relationship since Lauren was fifteen years old. It wasn't like during their breaks Arizona had stayed abstinent, so the blonde forgave her and they began planning for the arrival of their child. The father of the child had decided that he didn't want to be involved and Lauren had made it perfectly clear that she wanted to raise the baby with Arizona.

The day that Joshua Daniel Robbins was born changed Arizona's life. She had seen so many births and cared for so many children in her short time as a Resident and she saw the love and pride in the faces of the parents of those children, but never had she imagined being so insanely in love with such a tiny human. It had taken only a few seconds for her to fall in love with Joshua and she spent the next four years of his life loving him a little more every day.

Three months after Joshua was born Arizona with the support of Lauren applied for a second parent adoption. Being a mother to Joshua was something that Arizona took pride in every day. She would get up to him in the middle of the night, change his diapers, feed him, burp him, and sing him to sleep. There was nothing she wouldn't do for him and as he got older noting really changed, she still tucked him in every night after reading him his favourite even if she was working or on-call she would find a way to make sure that her voice was the last thing he heard before he went to sleep at night. Her life was complete at the ripe old age of 29. It was perfect, until it all came crashing down on her 30th birthday.

She had come home after a gruelling day at the hospital, expecting to be greeted with birthday hugs and kisses from the two most important people in her life. Instead, she came home to an empty house. All of their stuff was gone and all that was left was a note. The note didn't say where they had gone or why they had left, just that they weren't coming back.

Arizona's entire world had been shattered that day. She spent the next six excruciating weeks trying to find them and when she finally did she found that Lauren was now with a guy named Matt, who just so happened to be Joshua's biological father. By this stage Arizona was over Lauren's games and didn't even want her back but she wasn't going to allow anyone to take her son away from her. Something Arizona didn't know was that Lauren had never filed the adoption papers, Arizona had seen them and she had signed them but Lauren had never actually filed them which meant that the Paediatric surgeon had no legal rights over the young boy. Lauren had made up her mind and she had cut Arizona out of his life completely. That was five years ago now and Arizona had never really gotten over it.

So Lauren had followed Arizona to Seattle and apparently was no longer with Matt, she was looking for a second chance with the successful Paediatric surgeon and she was using Joshua as bait. Callie had every right to be upset, Arizona hadn't told her about Joshua when she recounted her relationship with Lauren because it was too painful for her. Now she wished she had.

Callie had never expressed herself the way she had tonight and in a way it made Arizona's heart soar to know that this is how her girlfriend felt, it also caused her great pain when she thought about the reasons for Callie sharing these feelings. This situation is not the way Arizona had wanted to have the future talk with Callie but now that it was here she had to take the opportunity to let the brunette know how she felt.

"Calliope. Calliope, look at me" Callie slowly lifts her head to look into Arizona's angelic face.

"I love you. You ARE my everything and you DO give me everything. My heart belongs to you Calliope, but I can't erase my past. I can't erase Joshua and I'm not sure that I want to. He was the best thing that ever happened to me, until I met you. One day I want to marry you and have babies with you but if you can't handle the fact that Joshua might be a part of my life then I think you need to let me know" she knew that Callie was going to have a hard time dealing with this. The Latina was definitely the jealous kind and the fact that Lauren had been able to give Arizona a child before she could was something that could prove to be a giant obstacle in their relationship.

Arizona didn't even know how she herself felt about Lauren bringing Joshua back into her life, she was supposed to have gone to see him this afternoon but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. What if he didn't remember her? What if he did? What if when she looked at him she saw her son? Or maybe she would look at him and not see the boy she once knew. There were so many ways this could go and she just wasn't sure she was ready to face any of it yet, so she completely understood Callie's trepidation.

"I don't know if I can handle this Arizona. I want it to be me. I want to be the one who gives you your first child, the one who makes all your dreams come true and she's ruined it. It's ruined" the pain in Callie's voice was evident as she spoke these words to Arizona.

"I'm so sorry baby" Arizona moved forward to take Callie in her arms again but found that the brunette had quickly stood up from the lounge where they had been sitting. She felt her heart sink; Callie moving away from her was definitely not a good sign.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we just go to bed?" Callie put her hand out to the now shaking blonde. All Arizona could do was breathe a sigh of relief as she nodded her head and took a hold of her lovers hand before being led towards their bedroom.

They got changed into their pyjamas in silence and as the slipped into bed Callie rolled over onto her side, leaving Arizona unsure about what to do. They spent an awkward few minutes just laying there, Callie on her side with her back to her girlfriend and Arizona lying on her back staring at the ceiling. After what felt like an excruciatingly long time Callie reached her arm behind her to grasp Arizona's hand that was resting on her own stomach, Callie lifted the limb and draped it over herself as she tried her best to snuggle her back towards Arizona's front. Without hesitation the smaller woman wrapped her arm tightly around the love of her life and shifted her body closer to the beautiful body that was the object of all of her fantasies. She rested her in the crook of Callie's neck, taking in the sweet peppermint scent of Callie's raven coloured curls. Both of their bodies relaxed immediately after feeling how well their bodies moulded together, it was like they were made for one another. Just before drifting off to sleep Arizona whispered in Callie's ear.

"You are the one who makes all my dreams come true" and with that they drift off to sleep with their limbs tightly wrapped around one another.


	30. Chapter 30

**CHAPTER 30**

**ARIZONA**

Arizona woke up to the shrilling sound of her alarm but she didn't remember setting it the night before, which could only mean one thing. Sure enough, as the blonde reached out her hand simply grasped at cold sheets and an empty pillow. Callie must have been paged into the hospital last night, usually the orthopaedic surgeon would wake her to say goodbye. It was only on a very rare occasion that Callie would slip out silently, she was a little selfish in that way and didn't seem to be able to function without a little dose of attention from Arizona before she shuffled off to work. in the early month of their relationship when Callie was paged the blonde would wake up and make her girlfriend a coffee before walking her over to the hospital and instead of going back to her own apartment she would generally spend the hour before her next shift sleeping in an empty on-call room.

Once she felt comfortable enough to, she would walk back to Callie's apartment. Callie had always told her she could use the apartment to sleep but in the beginning Arizona just didn't feel right about staying there without Callie. It had actually been Cristina calling her to 'come home and fix the stupid coffee machine' that made her feel truly comfortable in that apartment.

These days Arizona would barely open her eyes when Callie was paged in but she always woke up enough to kiss her girlfriend goodbye and whisper for her to 'make miracles happen' or 'be the miracle' or some other inspirational quip. She almost felt silly saying them but she noticed that her corny one liners sent Callie off to start her day with and extra little spring in her step and that was enough of a reason for her to keep saying them.

It was clear that Callie was having some trouble dealing with last night's revelations and as much as it scared Arizona to know that Callie was retreating, she also knew that her fiery girlfriend needed a little space to come to terms with things. So she was going to give the brunette the time she needed.

Arizona sighed to herself as she flung her legs over the edge of the bed, before her feet could even touch the ground she was startled by the bedroom door being flung open. There stood a panicked Cristina Yang.

"The babies are in distress. They need you over there now"

* * *

**CALLIE**

The brunette had been paged in late last night, she had been at the hospital for nearly four hours now and her shift still didn't start for another hour and a half. She decided to go take a nap in an on-call room before her shift officially started. As she headed toward her favourite on-call room, the one she and Arizona spent a lot of their alone time in she noticed people dashing about. There were nurses bustling about carrying all sorts of equipment, she also saw Derek Shepherd burst out of the elevator and follow the speedy nurses. Next came a bunch of Interns and Residents whispering excitedly to one another then she saw Teddy hurriedly making her way down the hall and she knew what must be happening. Something was going on with the Hudson twins; Callie was tossing up on whether or not to call Arizona to make sure she was on her way. Her thoughts were halted however when she heard the elevator ding and out stepped her roommate and her girlfriend. Both women were wearing terrified expressions on their faces as Cristina began hurriedly reading thing out loud to Arizona as they scurried off in the direction of the crowd. Callie just stood there not sure what to do. She knew that she couldn't really be of any assistance in there and yet she felt this great urge to follow her girlfriend, so she did.

Once she reached the NICU she couldn't even see into the room due to the massive crowds of hospital staff that were obscuring all the windows and doorways. Just as she was about to shove an intern out of the way the brunette heard a familiar voice screaming down the hall.

"This isn't the theatre people. If it were I'd be wearing a nice dress instead of the same scrubs I've been in for 36 hours and I'd be sipping champagne instead of the sewerage tasting muck this place calls coffee. So stop gawking like a bunch of morons and get back to work"

Upon hearing Bailey shouting at them the massive crowd began to disperse. Callie smiled to herself as she watched Miranda Bailey swat some of the younger hospital staff as they scurried past her. The only people left standing there after Bailey's rampage was Callie, Meredith and Alex. Inside the room was Brooke, Teddy, Cristina, a few nurses and of course the blonde that made Callie's heart beat a little faster in her chest. Arizona was mostly hidden from view as she stood leaning over the babies and everyone else was crowding around her, everyone in the room was completely silent and deathly still until suddenly they all burst into action. It was almost a shock to see how quick they had all begun going about their tasks but then Callie realised that Arizona was barking out orders and they were simply following her instructions.

It was amazing to watch Arizona in action, she was the most caring and kind person Callie had ever met but as a doctor, as a surgeon she was among the most fierce Callie had ever seen. You just don't mess with Arizona Robbins whilst she's trying to save a child's life.

Callie stood there looking through the glass of the NICU for what felt like hours watching her girlfriend work when suddenly she felt a presence behind her. At first she wasn't going to turn around but whoever it was that was standing close behind her wasn't moving and she made a quick glance in their direction on instinct.

The brunette almost choked on her own tongue when she saw a familiar mass of red hair clogged her line of vision. It wasn't the good kind of familiar red, she knew that Addison was due back in Seattle any day now but this was not that particular redhead. This redhead was the one that had the potential to ruin her life. As Callie stood there gaping at the stunning woman before her Lauren looked away from the people inside the room and right into Callie's eyes, she gave the orthopaedic surgeon a gentle smile and Callie saw her eyes light up with recognition.

"Hi" Lauren took a step towards the brunette but when she didn't receive an answer she held out her hand as she introduced herself.

"We haven't officially met. I'm Lauren, the younger Dr. Robbins and I went to school together" Callie had no idea how to react in this situation. Did she launch herself at the redheaded demon and rip out her throat? Did she give her a big spiel about how she was going to fight for Arizona and win? Or did she simply go along with this awkward moment as if nothing was wrong? Callie reached out and took the red heads hand and shook it sternly.

"Callie Torres. Nice to meet you"

The red head smiled brightly before turning her attention back to the people inside the room. Callie couldn't help but notice how breathtakingly beautiful Lauren was. She could definitely tell why Arizona had been attracted to her; she was like some sort of model or something. Callie was busy thinking about all the ways this woman was more beautiful than her and didn't hear the woman speaking to her.

"She's amazing isn't she?" the red head was now staring dreamily at Arizona. She was looking at Arizona the way that Callie looked at her and this did not sit well with the brunette

"Huh?" Callie was so lost in her thoughts she was completely unable to have a proper conversations with this woman.

"Arizona Robbins. She's amazing"

"Yes, she is" Callie found these words falling out of her mouth before her brain had even registered what the red head had said.

"So you know the Robbins sisters?" Callie could tell that Lauren was trying to get information out of her and as much as the brunette was to scream "She's mine. So back off bitch!" she didn't. She kept her cool and simply said nothing.

"Who am I kidding of course you know them. Everybody knows them. Not only are they brilliant doctors, they have a certain charm about them am I right?" this red head was fairly accurate in her statement. Arizona and Brooke were not only extremely respected in their fields but they were very well liked among their peers.

"I guess you could say that" Callie wasn't going to make it easier for this snake of a woman to get information out of her so she kept her answers to a bare minimum.

In that moment Arizona looked up from what she was doing and made eye contact with Callie. She looked stressed, Callie could tell that something was bothering her and it was killing her that she couldn't just walk on in there and take the blonde into her arms, telling her that everything was going to be okay. Instead she nodded her head and gave her girlfriend a small smile, Callie saw the Paediatric surgeon's eyes brim with tears as her shoulders relaxed a little. Within a second the moment was gone and Arizona was back to work. The team inside the room had quickly rushed out of the room and headed toward what Callie could only assume was the OR. Arizona kept her eyes focused on the task at hand; she loaded herself into the elevator without so much as a glance in Callie's direction.

* * *

**CALLIE**

The hospital was buzzing with the news of the surgery that was still going on upstairs. Callie had taken it upon herself to go up to the gallery for a quick peek at what was going on and what she saw made her heart swell with pride. Arizona was commanding the OR with all the grace and poise that she had in her petite body. Her deft fingers were performing miracles on those tiny babies and everyone in the room and up in the gallery was staring at her in awe. Callie had noticed that Addison had arrived and was making herself useful in the OR, as was Teddy, Cristina and Alex. It was kind of strange watching Arizona and Alex work together; they flowed effortlessly as a team. It was like Alex knew what she was going to do before she spoke out loud. In fact during the hour and a half Callie spent watching from the gallery Arizona barely said a word.

No one could deny that Robbins and Karev made an amazing team in the OR. These babies were so small that everyone was practically standing on top of one another and they all seemed a little uncomfortable, awkward even but Arizona and Alex had found a position that suited them within the first five minutes of the surgery and they didn't seem to have any problems whatsoever with being pressed up against one another or the fact that they had to reach over and around each other in order to work efficiently.

Callie wouldn't exactly say she was jealous because she knew that they were working and it just simply hadn't even dawned on either of them how intermingled their bodies had become. They were very alike in that way, nothing else even registered to either of them when they were working to save a patient's life and it made Callie smile to know that her girlfriend was so professional even after the things that had unfolded about herself and Alex in recent months. Alex too was being a man about the whole thing, he didn't once complain when Arizona threatened to beat him with a brick he just took it like a man and waited for her to get over her moment of jealousy, which she did pretty quickly, especially when Jackson Avery was put on her service. Callie didn't know why but for some reason Arizona had a weird aversion to the far too pretty Mercy Wester.

Mark was sitting next to her now at the lunch table where they usually sat with a large group of Attendings. Today it was just Callie, Mark and Owen. Things were a little awkward between Mark and Owen since Mark had started dating Teddy, they weren't really that serious yet but Callie could tell that Mark really liked her. That didn't seem to sit very well with Owen for some reason, all Callie knew was that if Owen happened to realise he wants to be with Teddy and break Cristina's heart she would have to kill him. Her roommate was not the friendliest of people at the best of times but a heart broken Cristina was just weird and creepy and Callie was not prepared to go through round 2 of the Cristina depression. So Owen had better watch himself.

So as Mark chewed on his apple noisily and mumbles things that Callie was pretending to listen to, she suddenly snapped out of her silent daze when she felt Mark kick her under the table.

"Jesus Mark. What the hell?" Callie was getting ready to hurl her salad at him when he flicked his eyes to a spot just over her shoulder. She turned around cautiously only to be faced with the one thing that had been consuming all of her thoughts for the past 12 hours.

Standing behind her was the red head that she had spent an awkward ten minutes with earlier that morning and next to her was a young boy clutching onto her hand and staring at Callie with big blue eyes.

"Mind if we sit?"


	31. Chapter 31

**CHAPTER 31**

**CALLIE**

"Sure"

Callie didn't really know how else to reply to the red head so she offered her a seat and watched as the enemy gracefully sat down at their table. She was quickly followed by a dark haired little boy who looked about eight or nine. He had chocolate brown hair and brilliant green eyes, his eyes were definitely a trait he got from the red head. Callie watched Mark's entire body tense up and his usually goofy grin was nowhere to be seen on his man-whoreish face when Lauren took her seat. Somehow the little boy ended up in the chair next to Callie and he smiled up at her as she pulled the chair out for him, she couldn't help but smile back at him. The boy had a sweetness about him that was endearing and since it wasn't his fault that his mother is an evil bitch trying to ruin Callie's life, the brunette didn't see why she couldn't be nice to the kid.

"It's Callie right?" Lauren asked casually, smiling gently in Callie's direction.

"Yeah. This is Mark Sloan and Owen Hunt" Callie waved her arm at her friends absentmindedly but she couldn't bring herself to peel her eyes away from the little boy sitting next to her. He had pulled out a notepad and a pencil and now had his head down scribbling furiously.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Lauren, an old friend of Brooke and Arizona Robbins"

Callie watched as Mark grunted a reply and kept chewing on his apple, Owen was a little more civilised and stood to shake her hand greeting her with a cautious smile. The Orthopaedic surgeon could hear Owen and the red head making small talk but wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about since she was paying so much attention to the small child in the seat beside her.

"Hi I'm Callie. What's your name?" she finally got up the nerve to speak to the boy and when she did she was rewarded with a huge grin from the child as he reached out to shake Callie's hand.

"Hi. I'm Joshua Daniel Robbins and I'm 9. Are you a doctor?" Callie was a little shocked by the forwardness of this small child but she timidly reached out her hand and shook the tiny hand in front of her.

"Yes. I'm a doctor. What are you drawing?" the brunette was amazed at the conversation skills that this child possessed. She could also see Mark staring at the boy with mild shock written all over his face.

"Cool, you look like a doctor. I'm drawing a comic for this competition at my school. All the kids are entering. Wanna see?" Joshua's eyes lit up brilliantly as he held up his comic for Callie to see. The brunette couldn't believe her eyes, this kid was a genius. His drawings were immaculate, the drawing he was holding up was only half finished but it definitely looked like the work of a seasoned artist and not that of a nine year old child.

"Wow, that's amazing. I think you're going to win that competition" it was a little strange how easy it was for Callie to talk to Joshua. She had expected to feel all kinds of resentment and maybe even dislike for the child but what she didn't expect was to be amazed by him. The boy simple smiled at Callie's compliment and nodded his head proudly, he was clearly very aware of his awesomeness. This trait in the child was oddly like someone else Callie knew.

"Come on Josh we have to go. Mommy's got a meeting and I have to drop you off with the sitter" the sound of Lauren's voice broke Callie from her thoughts and she watched as the smile on Joshua's face turned into an adorable little pout, something else Callie recognised.

"Can't I stay here mom? I'm not a baby anymore. I'm 9! I won't go anywhere I promise" Callie couldn't for the life of her figure out why but the red head wasn't even slightly effected by the immense pout the boy was wearing. Callie was practically melting into her chair just watching the boy try to sweet talk his mother and yet the cold hearted snake simply rolled her eyes and spoke a firm no to the boy.

"Why don't you let him stay? Torres isn't doing anything right now, are you Callie?" she couldn't believe her ears. Was Mark, her best friend in the world really putting her in this position?

"Uh, no I couldn't" Lauren began to decline Mark's absurd suggestion when Joshua jumped up off of his chair interrupting his mother.

"Yeah mom, please can I? Joshua begged, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Joshua you can't just –"

"Can I stay with you Dr. Callie? I can show you the rest of my comic" Joshua had now turned those brilliant green eyes and that pouty little face onto Callie and she knew that she was powerless to say no. In fact she was powerless to say anything at all so she simply nodded her head and before she knew what was happening Lauren was thanking her profusely and rushing out of the cafeteria, Owen followed shortly after leaving only Callie, Mark and Joshua at the table.

"Hey Joshua, how about you go over there and grab yourself a drink or something" Callie was trying to get rid of the boy for a moment so she could scold her best friend. She wasn't sure that it would be appropriate for the young boy to witness Callie stabbing Mark in the leg with a fork. Joshua took the money Callie offered him and skipped over to the drinks cart.

"Are you crazy?" Callie was trying her best not to yell but her anger was getting the best of her.

"What?" Mark was looking at her as if he didn't know what she was talking about.

"What do you mean what? You just told the woman that is trying to steal my girlfriend away from me that I would mind her son! How could that not seem crazy to you Mark?" Callie was becoming more and more enraged by Mark's casual attitude towards this whole situation.

"Listen Torres, that kid over there is the only tune that crimson bitch has to play when it comes to winning over Blondie. Like it or not you might become mommy number 3 to that kid sooner that you know. So spend a little time with him, get him to like you and your home free" Mark was looking super pleased with himself for his brilliant master plan.

"What am I supposed to do with him Mark? I have work to do" Callie was less angry now and was going into panic mode instead.

"I don't know. Take him on rounds with you" and with that he gave her a knowing look and dashed off out of the cafeteria.

As much as Callie was cursing Mark in her mind right now another part of her actually saw the logic in what he was trying to say. This whole situation didn't seem to be going away like she wanted it to, so perhaps getting to know Joshua and more importantly getting him to like her was the way to go. She watched as the boy stood in line and saw him wave at her enthusiastically. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Joshua was a lot like Arizona in many ways. It wasn't that he looked like her or anything but he had a lot of the same mannerisms and even the way he spoke was almost identical to her girlfriend. All of the adorable quirky traits that Callie loved so much about Arizona seemed to have manifested themselves in this green eyed boy and it made her heart swell with happiness that there could be another person in the world like Arizona and yet her heart was splitting into pieces at the same time as she realised that she was not the one to give the blonde a tiny human that would grow up to be just like her.

Callie had to look away from him because she felt the tears pooling in her brown orbs. Instead she turned her attention to the book the boy was drawing in. As she flicked through the pages her heart stopped in her chest when she saw a drawing of a blonde with beautiful blue eyes wearing a super hero's costume. There was a big 'Z' in the middle of the costume she was wearing and Callie knew that this picture was undeniably a drawing of her girlfriend. Arizona Robbins was this boy's super hero and Callie had a feeling that he didn't know she was real.


	32. Chapter 32

**CHAPTER 32**

**CALLIE**

Callie spent the past three hours doing rounds with Joshua. He had even helped her in the lab for a little while. She couldn't' help it, she really liked the boy and it wasn't just because she saw a lot of what she loved about Arizona in him, although that did help. Joshua had proven himself to be a very intelligent child. He wasn't really into fairy dust and magic, he was more realistic yet at the same time he was imaginative and artistic. His comic for example was about a female superhero that saved all the children from an evil scientist. She had all different kinds of powers but Joshua thought that her best power was her power to heal. She found it kind of crazy how alike Joshua's protagonist and Arizona were. Callie had asked the boy what her name was and if she was based on a real life person. He said that he didn't know what her name was or if she was real, he only knew that he saw her in his dreams and decided to draw her. The character had a giant Z on her chest.

This poor boy was dreaming of the mother that he lost all those years ago, the mother that he consciously didn't even remember but subconsciously his little mind had turned her into this mythical figure that was capable of saving the world and keeping away his bad dreams. She couldn't blame Joshua for unknowingly turning Arizona into a superhero because as far as Callie was concerned the Paediatric surgeon was a superhero and she knew that all of Arizona's patients as well as their parents would agree.

So as she sat in the cafeteria for the second time that day she realised that the reason she felt so strongly about this boy was because he is exactly the way she imagined her children with Arizona to be. She imagined them to be optimistic and full of life like Arizona, she imagined them to be imaginative and sweet natured just like her girlfriend but she also imagined that they would posses her fiery passion and creative flare. There was no doubt in Callie's mind that her children with Arizona would be indescribably charming, just the thought of this made a lopsided smile appear on Callie's face. It didn't stay there long as she thought back to a conversation they had had a few months ago where Arizona had told her that she didn't want to have children. Callie had been devastated at the time, she had even for a short while thought about ending their relationship but in the end knew that she didn't just want to have children she want to have Arizona's children. She had accepted that Arizona was not keen on the idea and thought she would wait a year or so before bringing it up again and then this happened, did that mean that Arizona would change her mind about having kids? Or did she just mean she didn't want any MORE kids? Or perhaps she just meant that she didn't want to have kids with Callie.

She was pulled from her deep thoughts by Joshua jumping up from his chair and calling out to his mother who was now crossing the cafeteria floor coming toward them.

"Mommy!" Joshua was excited to see his mother yet he didn't rush up to her and hug her or give he a kiss. Callie found this a little strange as in her experience kids tended to be very affectionate at Joshua's age, especially with their parents.

"Stop pulling at your shirt like that. Did you have fun with Dr. Torres?" the reaction Lauren had to her son was also something that confused Callie, it wasn't that she was cold towards him or anything but she definitely couldn't see Lauren and Arizona having the same parenting approach. Arizona was very affectionate with her patients and would only guess that she would have been very affectionate to Joshua when he was younger.

"Oh I did. Did you know Dr. Torres is a bone doctor? She fixes bones. We went to the science lab and I saw all these big bones and all these pictures of bones. It was awesome!" Callie couldn't help but laugh at how enthusiastic Joshua had been over the whole ortho thing. He was crazy for the bones, asking Callie to name almost every bone in the human body.

"Well that's right up your alley isn't? Thank you so much for taking him. He wasn't any trouble? I know he can be a little full on at times" Lauren flashes Callie a brilliant smile, for a split second she almost forgot how much she hated this woman. There was something about the red head that took away Callie's anger when they were in the same room together. Callie alone with her own thoughts however was a different matter all together, when she was alone and nowhere near the stunning red head, she found herself thinking of ways to make her 'disappear'. Every plan however consisted of calling Mark or Cristina to help her so she quickly dismissed them all.

"It's fine. He was the perfect gentleman. We had a great time didn't we buddy? He kept me from going insane on rounds" Callie leant forward and gently ruffled the boy's dark hair. Joshua simply nodded and stood staring at his mother with a proud smile.

"Well thank you just the same. Come on Joshua, we have to go. Thank you again" without another word Lauren was headed in the direction of the exit. Joshua was left to quickly pack up his stuff, before rushing off after his mother he threw his arms around Callie in a tiny bear hug. It shocked her at first but she gave into it and hugged him back. It was a short embrace and Callie could tell that this boy wasn't used to a great deal of physical affection. He sprinted after his mother, looking back and giving Callie a small wave before slowing down to walk beside his mother as they exited the cafeteria.

If she were being honest Callie had really enjoyed her afternoon with Joshua and watching him leave was a little bit sad for her. It was almost like she was losing a piece of Arizona and she never wanted to lose any piece of the woman she loved, not ever. As she turned back to the table she noticed there was a drawing lying there. When she picked it up she felt her heart clench as she saw a picture of the child healing superhero that looked so much like Arizona only now next to her stood a raven haired hero with a C in the middle of her chest. Callie couldn't help but let a tear fall as she looked at the picture that was obviously of her and Arizona, she began to wonder whether this kid had a few special powers of his own.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

It felt like the longest day ever to the blonde PEDS surgeon. She had spent the entire day trying to keep the Hudson babies alive. So far she had succeeded but who knows how long that will last. The first surgery had gone as well as could be expected. Arizona, Brooke and Addison with the help of Cristina, Alex and Lexie had managed to separate the babies. Cristina had really out done herself today when she was able to insert an assist device pigging backing a mechanical heart into baby B's chest cavity. Teddy had taught this procedure to her but she had performed it all on her own whilst Arizona and Alex continued to separate the babies. There were a few unforeseen complications and Arizona had asked for Mark to be paged about 5 hours into the surgery. She saw everyone look at her strangely when she said his name and she knew they had all thought she was mad. What possible good could come of paging the head of Plastics in a time of crisis?

Addison however gave Arizona a knowing look and that was all she needed to know that she had made the right decision. Mark Sloan was not just a plastic surgeon, he was also an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor which meant that he was used to working with small passageways. Although, the fact that Mark was a plastic surgeon was really the reason Arizona had paged him. Mark is not just a cut them open to save their lives type of surgeon, he had a strong steady hand and there was a certain craftsmanship about his work that Arizona admired and knew would be helpful in this situation. The fact that he was an overconfident arrogant surgeon also went in his favour. Arizona needed someone like him to boost the morale in the room. Mark proved himself to be useful in many ways today and the big shocker to all the nurses was that he didn't throw any inappropriate comments at Lexie or any punches at Alex, he didn't call Arizona Blondie once and neither Teddy nor Addison were enough to distract him. Mark Sloan really pulled through for her today and she wasn't going to forget it.

All Arizona wanted to do now was go home and be with Callie. She wanted to crawl up in bed with the woman she loves and let all her worries wash away. This of course was never going to happen. She had more worries outside of this hospital than she did inside it. She thought about just staying here at the hospital and putting it all off for another day but that thought was quickly quashed when she felt two strong hands lift her up and throw her over their shoulder. Her assailant had her in a fireman's carry and was now running out of the NICU.

Everything was happening so fast it was difficult for her to put together what was happening. She wasn't sure whether to scream or not, when she finally got her vision back as her attacker had slowed down a little to push the elevator button she lifted her head and noticed that there were nurses standing around watching her, doctors had stopped what they were doing and were all now looking curiously in her direction. She even thought she heard some sniggers of laughter. Her mystery ride must have heard them too because suddenly she was facing the other way, her head practically pressed up against the elevator doors as she heard Mark screaming at the nurses. Wait… Mark?

"What are you all looking at? Never seen a man kidnap a tiny blonde surgeon before? Go do your jobs people" it seemed as though Mark was about to continue with his rant when he heard the ding of the elevator door. Arizona felt herself swiftly spun around again just in time to see all of the staff scrambling around as they pretended to get back to work. Within a matter of second she had been spun around once again as Mark stepped into the elevator, she was now facing that back of the elevator but it took all of the energy left in her to keep her head raised.

"Mark I think I get the point. You can put me down now" Arizona was squirming to get free but he was just too strong for her. He didn't even seem to be struggling to hold her still, Mark had worked hard today sure Arizona had worked harder but still he shouldn't have had this much energy after a day like today.

"Not a chance Blondie" he spoke with a serious tone, something Arizona rarely heard from him but this tone made her realise that she had no chance of persuading him to let her down before he was ready to so instead of fighting it she let her body go limp and tilted her head to the side so that it was resting on his back.

"That's it Blondie. Just relax. We'll be there in no time" Mark patted Arizona on the butt with his free hand causing Arizona to smack him in the head with one of hers.

"Ouch! What was that for? I was just trying to relax you" he took his hand away from her butt and began rubbing his head where she had hit him.

"Just keep your hands to yourself Mark"

They remained silent the rest of the way out of the hospital and across the road, it was obvious that Mark was taking her back to the apartment but his grip wasn't loosening on her so she guessed that he had explicit instructions to deliver her to the door. Arizona found herself almost nodding off as they made their way into building and into the elevator. As they reached the front door she heard Mark knock and within second the door was flung but instead of hearing that voice that made her heart sing, she heard a different one.

"It's about time. What took you so long?" Cristina's cold voice filled the air.

"What do you mean what took me so long? You try carrying a grown woman all over town. She's not a light as she looks" Mark tried defending himself, although he was exaggerating with the all over town bit. If she hadn't been half asleep she would have slapped him again for saying that she was heavy.

"Must be all that sunshine" Cristina dead paned.

Within seconds Mark was moving across the room with her still flung over his shoulder, she heard a door creak open and then suddenly it was dark and she was being heaved off Mark's shoulder. She felt herself falling and squeezed her eyes shut as if that would break the fall. She didn't fall far before she hit what she could only imagine was her bed, but it wasn't as soft as it should have been. Mark had thrown her into her bed only to land on something hard. She heard the door slam shut and the small ray of light that was previously streaming into the room was now gone and the room was completely empty.

As Arizona went to move from the uncomfortable position she had been dropped she heard a moan and realised that Callie was asleep in the bed. Mark had thrown her in the bed and she had fallen right on top of a sleeping Calliope. She quickly crawled off as she heard Callie whimper.

"Arizona, is that you?" Callie sat up in the bed as she tried to get her eyes to focus in the dark.

"Yeah it's me" Arizona felt Callie's hand reach out for her and she grabbed it, entwining their fingers together. The blonde heard a content sigh leave her girlfriends body before she heard her speak.

"I'm so glad you're here"


	33. Chapter 33

**CHAPTER 33**

**CALLIE**

"You saw him?"

Callie was watching Arizona pace back and forth in their bedroom. She had just told the blond about her afternoon with Joshua and Arizona wasn't taking it very well.

"Yeah, she just showed up. Then Mark volunteered me to look after him for a few hours and before I knew it the little guy was coming on rounds with me and telling me all about his comic. Which is amazing by the way, you're going to love it" Callie could tell that Arizona was freaking out big time, she hadn't stopped pacing the room since Callie had mentioned Joshua's name and she had stripped down to her underwear because she was working up such a sweat.

She knew that now really wasn't the time to be getting turned on but Callie just couldn't help it. Watching Arizona practically sprint from one side of the bedroom to the other as she flexed her arms and her stomach muscles, sweat was glistening over her entire body and it was making Callie drool. Arizona's sudden stillness made Callie's eyes snap up from Arizona's sexy legs to her beautiful blue eyes.

Arizona was staring at Callie expectantly with her eyebrow cocked and her hands on her hips. This particularly sexy stance was not helping to focus Callie on the situation at hand.

"Do I have to put on some clothes to get you to listen to me?" Arizona was doing her best to sound angry but Callie could clearly hear the amusement in her girlfriend's voice.

"No, no no. no need for that. I'm listening" Callie rubbed her eyes and shook her head as if that would help to shoo away her dirty thoughts. When she opened her eyes she saw that Arizona looked immensely sad and her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Baby what's wrong?" Callie reached out for Arizona's hand and gently pulled the blonde closer to her. Arizona didn't resist like Callie thought she would. Callie was now sitting on the edge of the bed an Arizona had take up position in between her legs. Callie lifted the blonde's hands and placed them around her neck before leaning forward to wrap her arms around her scantily clad girlfriend.

"What's he like?" if they had not been standing so close Callie's doubted that she would've been able to hear Arizona's whispered question.

"He's smart and he's funny and he's sweet. He has this crazy imagination and the kid has some serious artistic skills. He's… well, he's you." Callie noticed a single tear falling down Arizona's cheek and reached up to brush it away.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Oh I have something to show you" Callie pulled Arizona down and threw her into the bed before jumping up and crossing the room to pick up the piece of paper that she had spent her entire afternoon staring at.

Arizona let out a small giggle as she fell back onto the bed and it was like music to Callie's ears to hear that beautiful laugh. She turned on the lamp on the bedside table as Arizona did the same on her side and as she approached the bed again she held up the drawing for Arizona to see.

"Is that…"

"You? Yeah"

"Wow and that's…"

"Me"

"This is amazing. It looks exactly like us. I mean I never thought anything could do those beautiful eyes justice or those lips… but this comes pretty damn close"

Callie couldn't help but notice how Arizona's eyes glazed over a little when she was talking about Callie's lips, it gave the brunette chills to know that even a drawing of her done by a 9 year old could create a little fire inside her girlfriend.

"I told you he's amazing. Just like you. I can't see any similarities between him and Lauren. I mean he looks like her but she's kind of icy and he's just…" Callie was cut off quickly by Arizona.

"She's not icy. She's just… she was brought up differently. People take her the wrong way sometimes, she's not as cold as she seems" Callie couldn't believe that Arizona was defending the baby snatcher.

"Arizona, the woman let you believe you had a son for 4 years before she snatched him away. It doesn't get much colder than that"

"Look Callie, I'm not perfect okay. I know that you and Mark and Cristina and probably everyone else think that I am but I'm not. I do bad things, I make mistakes. I've hurt people. I wasn't always like this. It took me a lot to get here" Callie's heart dropped as she watched Arizona slide off the bed and start throwing some clothes on.

"What are you doing?" Callie was starting to panic now as Arizona started heading towards the bedroom door.

"I need some space" and with that Arizona was out of the bedroom and heading towards the apartment door.

"Arizona, please don't go. Stay and talk to me, Arizona?"

It was too late. She was gone.

* * *

**CRISTINA**

Cristina and Mark had come up with a plan to get Callie and Arizona to talk to one another. It seems that it didn't work because she heard Arizona run out of the apartment last night with Callie screaming for her to stay.

As Cristina rounded the corner the saw her best friend Meredith leaning against the nurses' station. Cristina wasn't one for a lot of talking and sharing of feeling but she really just needed to get this off her chest.

"Okay so here's the thing. Robbins is gone and I'm freaking and…"

"You're freaking? About what? wait… Arizona's gone? Where?" Meredith was clearly in shock. She had been immensely focused on the chart in front of her and hadn't heard Cristina approach and was now even more confused by where this conversation was going.

"I don't know. Her ex showed up with a stupid kid and was all 'I want you back'. Arizona was supposed to adopt this kid like years ago but the ex skipped town and now she's back and Arizona's run off to play happy freakin' families" Cristina knew that she was acting like a child but she could help it, she even allowed herself to stamp her feet a little as she crossed her arms in a huff and leant up against the nurses' station. By this stage Meredith had completely disregarded her chart and was paying full attention to her sulking best friend.

"Oh my God! Poor Callie"

"I know, right? She's going to be devastated and Owen's going to be sad because they're all like bonded over their soldier stuff and they have breakfast together and they jog together and…" Cristina knew that she was rambling and it wouldn't be long before Meredith caught on to the fact that there was more going on here.

"Okay so you're freaking out because Arizona is gone, Callie's going to be devastated and Owen will be sad? And you're what exactly?" Meredith stood staring at Cristina expectantly.

"She said we were like sisters" Cristina let out in one big sigh.

"I'm sorry, what?" Meredith was now looking at Cristina like she had grown two heads.

"A few weeks ago, she said we were like sisters. She was joking but…"

"Cristina, you're making no sense. I'm sorry I shouldn't be laughing but, seriously? I didn't even know you liked Arizona"

"I don't. I mean I don't know if I do. Mer, you're not… this isn't the point" Meredith was not getting the point here. The point wasn't whether she likes Blondie or not, which she still remained adamant that she didn't like the PEDS surgeon, she was far too full of joy for Cristina's liking but that didn't give Arizona the right to just walk out and start a new family somewhere else with that red headed she devil.

"Okay so then tell me the point" Meredith was becoming impatient so Cristina knew she would have to tell her story fast.

"I had a sister"

"You what? Cristina!" Cristina felt Meredith slap her arm as she stared at her wide eyed with shock but a look of concern now also adorning her face.

"I had a sister, and she was sweet and perky and all shiny and EVERYBODY loved her. But I hated her; I mean I REALLY hated her. She was in the car with my dad when he…" it wasn't that Cristina was getting choked up about this or anything, it was just that she didn't talk about it. She didn't know how to talk about it. No one ever understood and anyone she had ever told thought she was either the worst person in the world of she was crazy.

"Oh my God Cristina, I'm so sorry" Cristina pulled away as Meredith tried to reach put an arm to comfort her. Physical affection wasn't a big part of their friendship so she didn't try again.

"Don't say sorry to me, I hated her. Say sorry to my mom"

"So Arizona reminds you of your sister?" Cristina could tell that Meredith was unsure as to where this conversation was leading but she was trying to be supportive.

"Sort of. Not really. I don't know. I just… she said we were like sisters and… Oh my God I think I'm crazy" as she thought more about the absurdity of her feelings she began internally kicking herself for bringing it up in the first place. Cristina Yang was not one for mushy feelings and heart to heart talks and she was seriously about to cross one of her own invisible lines.

"You're not crazy. Okay, you're a little crazy but… I don't know what to say." in true Meredith fashion she didn't try to comfort Cristina or tell her she wasn't a bad person or that she didn't really hate her sister because they both knew that would be a lie. Instead she simply stated the fact that she really didn't have any answers. An awkward silence fell over the two best friends before Meredith spoke once again.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you had a sister" trust Meredith to latch on to the most insignificant part of the story but the only part that involved herself.

"People don't usually go around talking about the dead sister they hated Mer" Cristina sighed loudly, hoping that exhaling deeply would get rid of all these weird feeling she was having.

"Point taken"

As if right on cue Mark popped up next to the pair with a wide grin on his face. Cristina really wished she could slap him sometimes; he was just always so damn smug.

"What's happening ladies?" Mark perched himself on the nurses' station in between Meredith and Cristina as he looked back and forth between the two expectantly.

"Well apparently Cristina likes Arizona" Meredith said nonchalantly.

"I do not" Cristina could believe her ears. Meredith was seriously going to pay for this.

"I knew it! I knew you liked her, I mean there had to be a reason you allow all that sunshine and goodness to share an apartment with you" Mark looked like the cat that just caught the mouse. He was going to have a lot of fun with this information and Cristina knew it, there was no way of getting around it.

"Oh please, she pays rent that all I care about" Cristina brushed off Marks teasing as she reached over the counter to grab some of her patient charts for the day, hoping that her would take a hint and disappear. Of course Mark was never too good at taking hints and since Cristina now ha her back to him he turned to Meredith instead.

"You scared she's going to dump you for Blondie?"

"A little" Meredith was having just as much fun with this as Mark was.

"Oh shut up" Cristina slammed her chart shut and stormed off down the hall. She could hear them laughing and calling out things like "I think PEDS is up stairs" and "Are those Roller shoes Yang?". She couldn't help herself, she just had to raise her hand and flip them off.


	34. Chapter 34

**CHAPTER 34**

**ARIZONA**

"Listen here Blondie, I've had just about enough of you" Arizona heard Mark's voice yelling at her as he stepped into her office and slammed the door behind him. Having a screaming match with Mark Sloan was just about the last thing she wanted to do right now.

"What are you talking about Mark?" she sighed as she closed her laptop knowing that she wasn't going to be able to get any work done with Mark hovering over her.

"You know what I'm talking about. You've been avoiding me all day which is fine but I just came here to say that you made a really big mistake picking that fire engine over Callie" Mark practically had steam coming out of his ears. Arizona was almost a little scared of him right now; she was thanking God that she was fast and that there was a large desk in between them. Before she had a chance to reply to Mark she was interrupted by the bathroom door opening.

"Babe what do you think of this one? I think it's a little…" Callie notices Mark standing in the middle of Arizona's office and stops midsentence. She had been in the bathroom trying on outfits for the night out they had organised tonight.

"Mark! What are you doing here?"

"I believe he's here to yell at me" Arizona stated casually.

"I… I thought. So you didn't? You're both still? I'm going to kill Yang!" Arizona laughed as she watched Mark stumble over his words once he had realised just how wrong her had gotten it.

Arizona had run out last night after Callie had told her all about her day with Joshua, she needed some time to clear her head and to come to terms with the fact that Callie had been able to spend time with Joshua before she had. She wasn't sure how she felt about the whole situation so she had thrown on some sweats and a tank top and gone for a run. Running always helped her to see straight, it helped her to see things with a clear head and she loved the way a long run made her body feel, sometimes it was even better than sex.

She had run for about two hours and when she had gotten back to the apartment she found Callie sitting on the couch watching TV waiting for her. Her run had really helped her organise her thoughts and she knew exactly what she wanted to say to Callie.

**THE PREVIOUS NIGHT**

**ARIZONA**

_As she rounded the last corner on her way home she felt a dull ache begin to take over her entire body. Being able to feel every muscle in her body moving and aching somehow made it easier for Arizona to think more clearly. Callie had spent a good part of her day today just hanging out with Joshua, the boy that Arizona had called her son for the first 4 years of his life, the boy she had mourned for the last 5 years of hers. At first she was angry and maybe even a little jealous that Callie had gotten to spend so much time with Joshua when she herself hadn't even been able to catch a glimpse of him. Of course she knew this was a ridiculous emotion to be feeling and yet she couldn't help but feel it._

_Arizona had had the opportunity to meet Joshua a few days ago when Lauren had first shown up and asked her if she wanted to see him. At the time she had jumped at the idea but as they got closer to the hotel Lauren was staying in Arizona chickened out. She couldn't bring herself to go into the room, she didn't know what to say to him or if he would even remember her. So instead of going into the room to face him she had gone to her favourite gay bar and gotten herself well and truly hammered. _

_She could barely breathe as she entered the elevator and pushed the button to take her to the right level. She hadn't taken her keys or anything so she prayed that Callie hadn't decided to lock the door in anger, she really couldn't be bothered going all the way across town to her old apartment at this hour. Thankfully the door was unlocked and as she tried her best to open the door quietly she noticed that Callie was sitting on the couch watching cartoons._

"_Hey you're back"_

_Arizona knew that this was the moment that she had been dreading but she had no other choice. This conversation had to happen so she might as well get it over with. She took herself to the kitchen and poured herself a big glass of water and gulped it down before she spoke._

"_I'm back" _

"_I was scared that…" Arizona had made her way to the couch and was now sitting next to Callie, she reached out to place her own sweating hand over Callie's shaking one._

"_Calliope, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not going anywhere? I'll always come back" Arizona looked deep into those beautiful brown orbs that saw right down to the depths of her soul and tried her best to reassure the woman she loved that she wasn't going anywhere. She knew that Callie had every right to be feeling a little insecure because they were definitely in a pickle but that didn't change the way Arizona felt about her, nothing could. _

"_I love you" Callie lifted Arizona's clammy hand and kissed it gently the way she had done on their first date, this sent shivers all the way through Arizona's body and Callie let out a little giggle as the blonde began blushing profusely._

"_I love you too Calliope but we need to talk about this" the moment of truth was finally here and suddenly Arizona didn't know how to say what she needed to. The look in Callie's eyes and the sweetness in her voice washed over the blonde and the words began flowing out._

"_I need you to tell me what to do. I can't do this without you. I haven't seen Joshua in 5 years and I'm scared. What if he doesn't remember me? What if he does and he's angry that I just left him? What if he doesn't like me?" Arizona was in the middle of a complete freak out when she heard Callie laugh softly beside her._

"_You really don't know how amazing you are do you? I always thought you were just being humble but you really don't know. Arizona, look at me. You are the most amazing person I know and Lauren has done a great disservice to that little boy by depriving him of your influence for all of these years. There is no way that Joshua won't like you so if that's all you're worried about then you don't need to" Arizona could see the sincerity written all over Callie's face. The brunette actually believed everything she just said and Arizona wondered how it was possible that she could get this lucky._

"_That's not all. It's Lauren; she has this hold over me. She always has, I've never been able to deny her anything. I don't know what it is and I know that's no excuse and you deserve so much more from me than 'I don't know' but I really don't know what else to say. I spent almost my whole life loving Lauren and it's almost like I don't know how to stop" she was breaking down now; she couldn't believe that she was telling Callie all of this. Arizona was sure that Callie was going to break up with her. Who wouldn't break up with their girlfriend if they basically came out and said that they weren't sure how to stop loving their ex?_

"_Do you want to be with Lauren Arizona?" Callie's eyes were downcast and she had taken her hand away from Arizona as soon as she had asked the question almost as if to protect herself from what Arizona's answer would be._

"_No. No Calliope I want to be with you. I love YOU!" _

"_Okay. Well I'm not going to pretend I'm happy about this Arizona but if you're honest with me then I think we can get through this" Arizona couldn't believe her ears. There were a lot of things she expected Callie to do and say but this was not one of them. Callie had really grown over the past year and Arizona was immensely proud of her girlfriend in this moment not to mention grateful._

"_Really?" _

"_Yeah, really. I love you Arizona and if you think it took you a lot to get to where you are it's nothing compared to what it took me to get here, to get this, to get you and I'm not about to give you up to the first bitch who comes in and demands you. Not unless that's what you want" Arizona could tell that Callie still needed a little more insurance that she wasn't going anywhere so Arizona leant in and place a gentle kiss on her lovers lips._

_As she pulled back to look into those pools of brown that made her feel so safe she felt her breath catch when a pair of lips were pressed against hers once again, and not gently this time. Callie's arms moved around Arizona's lithe waist and she moaned softly into the kiss, her eyes fluttering closed pulling the woman closer against her. Arizona repositioned herself so that she was now straddling Callie's lap on the couch. Callie took it upon herself to part Arizona's lips, their tongues meeting up with a wild hunger. 'Jesus that came on fast…' Arizona thought to herself as the hunger for her girlfriend overwhelmed her. When the kiss finally broke, she found that she'd somehow managed to push Callie onto her back, both women breathing heavily._

_Suddenly Arizona's phone began buzzing from where it was sitting on the kitchen counter. The blonde reluctantly untangled herself from her lover and headed toward the kitchen and her shrieking mobile. _

_Callie came up behind the gorgeous blonde, who had sensed her coming and froze whilst reading the text message she had received. Callie let her arms circle the blonde's waist from behind and she pressed against her, feeling Arizona shudder in her arms. She idly let her hands toy with the hem of her girlfriend's shirt, sliding one hand up to rest on the silky smooth stomach, while the other came up to brush the hair off her neck. She slowly leaned down and pressed a kiss against it and feeling Arizona melt against her, tightening the space between them. Light kisses turned to gentle sucking and tasting of the salty flesh of her lover. "Arizona…" she whispered into the woman's ear, nipping at the lobe with her teeth, knowing that was exactly what it took to push her girlfriend past the point of no return. Arizona heard her name being quietly hissed from those luscious lips, and she could've exploded right there._

_Callie moved her lips back to Arizona's neck, her hand sliding further up the blonde's shirt until she came to one breast, which was covered by a satin bra. Arizona knew that that sure as hell wouldn't do – definitely not and sure enough she felt Callie slide her other hand up the back of Arizona's shirt and easily unclasped the bra._

"_Who's the message from?" Callie breathed out, her voice deeper now as she was able to cup that tantalizing breast, excited to find the nipple already swollen for her. That was it for Arizona; no more from behind…she needed to kiss her, to stare into her eyes. It seemed as if Callie was thinking the same thing, as she felt her almost immediately grab her arms to turn her._

"_My sister. She's staying at the hospital with the twins tonight" Arizona spoke huskily, her eyes turning a deep shade of blue due to her growing lust._

"_So we have all night?" Callie grinned, her eyes moving down to Arizona's lips, before back up to those baby blues that she loved more than anything in this world. _

"_We have all night" Arizona moved in for another kiss, this one not covering anything – they both knew what they wanted now. She groaned hungrily into the kiss as Callie pressed her against the counter. She felt the brunette move her hands down to slide over her rear, squeezing it gently as their kiss continued heatedly._

_Arizona knew exactly where Callie was going with this so she gave a little jump, allowing Callie to lift her easily onto the kitchen counter. The Latina's hands slipped under Arizona's shirt and gently brushed over the luscious curves of her hips, up the silky skin until she found those breasts that she adored. Her thumbs flicked over both nipples as Arizona deepened the kiss, feeling the vibrations of a moan against her lips. 'Good god I need her,' she thought desperately as she felt Callie moving her hands back down to secure a hold on her, in turn Arizona wrapped her long legs around the brunette's waist. Callie pulled back, the kiss still going as she carried the Arizona with her, stumbling slightly and almost tripping over a chair. Neither of them noticed it. Callie nudged the door opened to their bedroom, kicking it closed behind her and falling onto the bed with Arizona beneath her._

_Callie's hands found the hem of the blonde's shirt and slid it up over her head, ridding her of the already unclasped bra at the same time. She gasped as the creamy coloured breasts came into view, dusty pink nipples standing erect. Arizona didn't want Callie to be the only__ one admiring a view so she tugged on Callie's shirt. The brunette obliged by sliding off her own shirt and bra, her own breasts now bare, nipples swollen with arousal. Arizona was quick to flip them over so she was now on top of her lover as she leaned down and brushed her nose against one of the Latina's hardened buds, letting her tongue come out to tease circles around it. Sinking her hot mouth around it, the moans coming from her lover was music to her ears. As her lips treated Callie's breasts she let her hands slide down to undo the woman's pants and slipped a hand down to cup her fully, feeling the wetness already through the woman's panties._

_She heard Callie gasp and felt her buck her hips in response, begging for release. Any other time, she'd tease her; make her wait… but not now, not this time. Perhaps later on tonight she'd take things slow – but right now, she knew what her girlfriend needed. She moved up to capture her lover in another heated kiss, seeing her cheeks now flushed with desire. She smiled seductively before trailing her kisses down and over her neck, between the valley of her breasts, trailing hot, wet kisses over her caramel stomach. It wasn't long till the scent of her lover's arousal hit her full force, leaving her mouth watering. She slid the jeans down and threw them to the side with the red panties quickly following suit. She felt Callie tremble as she placed light kisses over her inner thighs, slowly, teasing now. She placed a gentle kiss over her, and as soon as the wetness touched her lips, she lost it. She had no more self control. She let herself dive in, bringing her fingers up to gently part Callie's lips, she let her face move forward and give a few gentle licks, flicking her tongue over the swollen clit. Her hands came up now to rest on Callie's hips, hearing the woman moaning out her name spurred her on. She could tell her lover was close, she could sense it. She felt the urgent hands running through her hair, putting a gentle pressure as if silently begging for that final push. She let her mouth settle around that pleasure bud, and began suckling gently, just how her Calliope liked it, her tongue flicking rapidly._

_It didn't take long before she heard her name being moaned out almost incoherently now, as Callie hit a shattering climax. Arizona seeing her girlfriends hips rise off the bed, bucking hard against the blonde now as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her body. Arizona hungrily licked until she knew her lover was completely spent. When she knew her Callie was too sensitive for more, she gently let go, kissing her way back up from where she'd been. She brushed some Raven curls out of the way, laughing lightly at that satisfied look on her girls face; glazed eyes, a cute, goofy smile. Ah yes – she knew this face. This face was good. She placed a gentle kiss against her lips, feeling the brunette nuzzling into her now. "Those lips are seriously God's gift to the world" she said, hearing a laugh escape her lover._

"_More like God's gift to you Calliope" She hugged her close, pressing a kiss against her forehead. She smiled, she was turned on to the nines yes – but she could wait – she could wait forever, for she knew her turn would be coming soon, it always did._

"_Even better. Take that Lauren!" Callie screamed a little too loud causing Arizona to jump and let out a hearty laugh._

"_Lauren who?" Arizona replied gentle as she began kissing Callie slowly, she was so ready for round two._


	35. Chapter 35

**CHAPTER 35**

**CALLIE**

"Right, well I'll just leave you two to it then" Callie didn't really know what was going on here but it was obvious that Mark had run his mouth off without having all the facts once again. If Callie wasn't so confident in Arizona's abilities to handle herself she probably would have said something to him but instead she just let him squirm as he stood shuffling around in the doorway trying to figure out if Arizona was going to bite his head off or not.

"We're heading out for drinks tonight at that new place in town. You up for it?" Mark looked just as shocked by Arizona's question as Callie was to hear it come out of her girlfriend's mouth.

"Uh yeah I'm in. I'll meet you guys after my shift" Arizona waved to him nonchalantly expecting that to be the end of their conversation but she was forced to look up from her paperwork when she noticed that he was still in the doorway shuffling his feet.

"Was there something else Mark?" Arizona was now looking at him the way an inpatient mother would look at their child. Mark began speaking without looking up from his shuffling feet.

"Uh… Do you think we could have a quick… uh chat… before we head out?" Arizona immediately assumed he was talking to Callie and turned her attention back to the pile of papers on her desk.

"Yeah sure. are you ok Mark?" Callie replied gently and Mark lifted his head looking a little embarrassed.

"Um, actually I was talking to Arizona" Arizona snapped her head up at the mention of her name and she and Callie swapped sceptical glances before she they both turned their confused expression on the awkward looking man in the doorway.

"Uh yeah ok. I get off at five. I can meet you here if you want?" Arizona was a little apprehensive about this little chat session that Mark wanted to have with her but it didn't really seem like she had a choice.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

"I can't even begin to thank you enough for everything you've done for us Dr. Robbins" Rachel Hudson was clutching onto Arizona's hand as she thanked her over and over again. The woman had spent the past half an hour grovelling at the PEDS surgeon's feet. Arizona was used to her patient's parents getting all emotional on her but this was different. Over the past few months Arizona had spent a lot of time with Rachel Hudson and in turn had grown to really like her. The blonde often found herself getting too attached to her young patients but this was the first time she had ever formed a bond like this with a parent. Maybe it was because her patients weren't born for most of this process or perhaps it was just because Rachel Hudson was an amazing human being.

"Rachel how many times have I told you to call me Arizona? And you don't have to thank me. Watching those beautiful little girls doing so well is the reason I became a doctor but seeing how much you love them and everything you've done to help bring them into this world, even after everything. You're an inspiration" Arizona couldn't help but let out a little sob as she gave Rachel a bone crushing hug. This courageous young woman really was an inspiration and those little girls are going to be two of the most well loved kids in the world, despite how they came into this world.

Arizona's shift had been over for about half an hour but she stopped by to say a quick goodbye to Rachel and the twins before heading to meet her friends. A quick goodbye had turned into a full half hour of laughing and chatting, Arizona had felt bad about making such a quick exit as Rachel didn't have many visitors. In fact over the past few months she can only recall one person ever coming to visit and she hadn't seen them since the twins were delivered.

"Hey don't you have a weird meeting with your girlfriend's best friend to attend?" Arizona had completely forgotten that she was supposed to meet Mark in her office after her shift.

"Oh my God! I totally forgot, thank you so much. I have to get going. I'll come by in the morning"

Arizona heard Rachel laughing as the blonde all but flew out of the room and towards her office. She just had to hope that Mark was still there waiting for her; she couldn't really afford to be burning any bridges when it came to Callie at the moment so blowing off her best friend was probably not the best way to keep that from happening.

As she approached the door to her office she saw the light was on and the door was ajar, which no doubt meant that Mark had made himself comfortable on her couch. She pushed open the door softly, she didn't want to startle him just in case he was sleeping. When she stepped inside she saw Mark sitting in her chair with his feet perched comfortably on her desk but as she took in her surroundings she realised they weren't alone in the room. There were numerous faces gawking at her. Amongst the crowd was Lexie, Meredith, Alex, Avery, Percy, Reed and Cristina.

"Uh I don't think I got the memo about my office being turned into the new Residents lounge" Arizona tried to make a joke but this seemed like a tough crowd because none of them laughed, they all just continued burning holes in her with their eyes.

"There you are Blondie! I thought you were standing me up for a minute there" Mark had now jumped up from the seat and was ushering her over towards the seat he had just vacated.

"Take a seat. Ok who wants to go first?" Arizona was practically shoved into the chair as Mark began addressing everyone else in the room. The blonde was utterly confused by not only Mark's peculiar behaviour but the odd presence of so many Residents in her tiny office.

"Mark what's -"

"Nope. Shhh… Blondie. No talking" before she could even finish her question Mark had silenced her and was now paying more attention to the other surgeons in the room.

"Alright Lexie you're up" his voice was a little strained as he said her name and Arizona noticed that he barely looked at her when he addressed her. Lexie on the other hand was staring at Mark with a look of sheer horror on her face.

"Come on little Grey it's now or never" Cristina yelled impatiently as Arizona watched the shaking Resident stand up and suddenly her attention was being directed toward the seated Attending. Lexie stood there looking like a dear in the headlights for what seemed like an eternity before she spoke in a tiny child like voice. Arizona had no idea what this was all about but it sure as hell didn't seem good.

"Arizo- I mean Dr. Robbins I just wanted to apologise for trying to manipulate you and abusing your trust and our friendship just to get in on a surgery. It was wrong, I should have just come to you and I'm sorry" Lexie seemed began to sound a little less afraid as she spoke and was speaking with conviction as she apologised sincerely.

"Look we don't have to do this. You're all sorry, I get it and I'm over it. It's fine. I'm not going to be holding a grudge against any of you. I won't be preventing any of you from scrubbing in on any cool surgeries" Arizona appreciated Lexie's apology but was also a little annoyed that they had to bring it up again, just as she was getting over it.

"It's not about that Dr. Robbins. It's not about the surgeries or the punishments. Bailey's got that covered. We just… I guess we just didn't want you to think that we don't respect you" Arizona had to swivel her chair around to see Avery who was now addressing her.

"Pretty boy's right. You're one of the only Attendings who doesn't treat us like we're beneath you"

"Yeah you have our back"

"And we appreciate it"

"It's nice to be treated like a fellow doctor"

"Yeah and not some lowly poo scooping nurse or something"

"Like an equal"

"Like we might actually know what we're talking about sometimes"

"And that you let us actually cut, that's alright too"

"Maybe that's the problem here. I've treated you all like my colleagues instead of my subordinates, which is what you are. This is a teaching hospital and I'm supposed to be teaching you not stroking your egos and making you feel good about yourselves. So this is as much my fault as it is yours" Arizona appreciated the sentiments of the young Residents and it meant a lot to her that they were making an effort to apologise for their uncivilised behaviour recently but she did truly believe that a large portion of the blame for this situation rested on her shoulders, so essentially their apologies were unnecessary.

"Oh please, have you met the other Attendings at this hospital?" Cristina snorted from her position in the corner and everyone turned to glare at her.

"What I think Cristina means is that since you've been here you've taken the time to teach us. To let us perform procedures on our own and encouraging us instead of casting doubt and criticism our way every time we open our mouths or make a cut" Meredith stepped in to explain Cristina's comment but Arizona already knew what Cristina meant by the tone in her voice and the way she shot Mark an accusing look.

"Yeah, you explain things to us calmly and logically without shouting orders at us or making us do your dirty work" Arizona had only ever seen the sarcastic, taunting side of Jackson Avery so this side of him was surprising to her. She had previously thought him to be just another egotistical rich kid, maybe she was wrong?

"Remember that time you spent two hours helping me get used to handling the laparoscope for a distal pancreatectomy I had the next day?" she did remember Lexie's distal pancreatectomy, she had watched it from the gallery. That was a proud day for Arizona, Lexie had done an awesome job and even Bailey was impressed by the young Residents skill with the laparoscope.

"Or the time you helped me diagnose the guy with the spinal stenosis AND you let me take all the credit with Shepherd" Alex offered.

"She helped you with that? Damn, I knew I should've asked for help" Meredith shoved Alex playfully but he simply shrugged.

"Or the other week when you helped me perform complicated heart surgeries on sheep hearts in our living room" Arizona let a small giggle escape her body at the memory of herself, Cristina and Lexie playing doctor in their apartment.

They were all looking at her expectantly now. They had poured their little hearts out to her and were now waiting for the mama bears response. Arizona hadn't realised that they appreciated all of these things that she did for them. Of course she didn't do it for the glory, it was just something that she did without thinking about it but it was nice to know that they had all noticed and were grateful.

"You really think I'm a good teacher?" Arizona was almost in disbelief as she scanned the room looking at all the sincere eyes staring back at her and her own eyes filled with humble tears.

"Yeah dude. You're kinda awesome" Alex gave her a shrug and a half smile. She almost felt bad for threatening to beat him to death with a brick a few weeks back. He was a gifted surgeon who was showing an interest in Paediatrics and he had been having a rough time of it lately, she made a mental note to give him a break.

"I am kinda awesome, thanks Karev" Arizona was truly touched by their words and was grinning wildly. It was like she had gained back that little bit of self confidence that had been taken away by this whole situation.

"Well now that we're done with this love-in we can get on the important things in life. Food and alcohol!" Mark announced cheerily to the room causing laughter and chatter as the Residents all began piling out of the tiny space.

Within a matter of seconds everyone was gone and Arizona found herself alone with Mark.

"I owe you an apology too. I shouldn't have let Lexie bully me into using our friendship to further her career. You deserve better than that and I'm sorry" Arizona could see how much this apology was costing Mark and she appreciated it, even if he didn't have the courage to say it in front of the Residents. She simply gave him a smile and patted his shoulder before heading out of her office with him following close behind her. Tonight was definitely going to be an interesting night.

* * *

**CALLIE**

The group had decided to walk to the bar as it was only a few blocks away from the hospital. It was quite cold so they were all wearing big jackets and trying to keep themselves warm. Arizona and Teddy were walking just slightly in front of Callie and Mark; they had their arms linked and were huddled together chatting animatedly. Callie couldn't help but grin like an idiot when she heard the beautiful sound of Arizona's laugh coming from a few feet in front of her. It was weird but somehow Teddy seemed happier than usual too.

Callie had assumed that it was because of her newly transpired relationship with Mark that had seemed to also put a spring in her best friends step. As she looked at the two blondes whispering and giggling to one another she came to the realisation that Teddy's newly acquired friendship with Arizona was likely a big part of the reason Teddy seemed cheerier. Arizona had the ability to somehow make everyone's day a little brighter, it was one of her best qualities.

"So you tell Blondie about the kid?" Mark broke her train of thought with his out of the blue question.

"Yeah. She didn't take it well. She's freaking out but she asked me to help her get through it. So that's a good sign I guess" Callie shrugged, she didn't know what was really going on with Arizona because she was always so guarded but she did know that Arizona wasn't going anywhere. Not yet anyway.

"She loves you Cal. I know she does. You guys will be fine" Mark put a comforting arm around his best friend. It was times like these that reminded Callie why he was her best friend.

* * *

**ARIZONA **

It hadn't taken them very long to walk to the new bar which was actually more like a club. It was beautiful inside and there were two levels. The group had dinner downstairs and chatted about their surgeries and other happenings at the hospital before heading upstairs for drinks and some dancing.

Cristina was tapping her hands on the bar and angrily waving at the bartender who looked simply exhausted.

"Patience is a virtue Cristina" Arizona scolded her as if she were one of her patients. The poor kid at the bar would be barely of age, he just didn't seem to have it in him to serve drunken fools all night let alone mean surgeons like Cristina Yang.

"Light a candle and tell it to the pope Blondie" Arizona couldn't help but laugh at Cristina's completely politically incorrect jibe. The young Resident certainly was a witty one that's for sure.

As Arizona and Cristina stood around at the bar waiting to be served Lexie approached them looking solemn.

"Hey, how are you doing? I'm sorry this is awkward for you. Cristina should have told you they were going to be here" Arizona gave Cristina a light flick on the ear causing the grumpy Resident to swat Arizona's hand away.

"Little by little it's getting easier to pretend it's easier so I'm sure easier is just around the corner. Right?" Lexie was now looking to Arizona for reassurance. This was a topic the blonde really didn't know much about. She hadn't ever really had a bad break up, well besides Lauren but that was different and she didn't have to be around Lauren and watch her date other people.

"I'm sure it is" was all she managed to mumble out. She had to flick Cristina again when she heard her make a small snorting noise as she tried to contain her laughter.

After a few awkward minutes standing at the bar they were finally able to get the bartenders attention and order their drinks. Arizona and Cristina decided to just get two rounds for the whole table. Somehow Cristina managed to sneak off with one of the trays without paying her share. It was typical Cristina to just run off and not foot for the bill.

As she approached the table with the drinks everyone cheered and took their drink from the tray. She received a warm smile from Teddy, an awkward smile from Meredith, a nod of acknowledgement from Derek and of course Mark gave her a firm slap on the ass to show his appreciation.

"Thanks Blondie" no one else seemed to notice Mark's behaviour and after their little chat earlier Arizona decided to let it go. It probably wouldn't be good form if she was seen clocking Mark Sloan in the middle of a crowded club.

Arizona pulled up a chair next to Callie and sat down. As she looked around the table she saw all of her friends with big smiles on their faces and it made her all warm and fuzzy inside to know that she had been the one to initiate this little gathering so in turn she was partly the reason everyone was smiling. The chatting and drinking continued for about an hour or so before they heard someone clear their throat, as they looked around Arizona spotted a man on the stage trying to grab the crowd's attention.

"Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Goldfish. To celebrate our first week of business we're going to end the week with a little karaoke. So enjoy yourselves and if anyone needs a cab just head to the bar and we'll call one for you. Who's up first?"

Almost on cue Arizona saw a flurry of golden hair swish through the crowd and jump up onto the stage. Her friends had seemed to notice it too and were now clapping their hands wildly as Brooke prepared herself to sing what was sure to be something entertaining to say the least. It was just like Brooke to arrive just as the karaoke started, just in time to throw herself onto the stage and be the first one to get the crowd going.

Arizona was slightly mortified because she knew where this night was now heading and suddenly her two drinks didn't seem like enough.

"You didn't know it was karaoke night did you?" Callie asked with a huge grin spreading across her face as she took in what could only be described as Arizona's horrified face. The blonde shook her head and cringed as she heard the music start. Of course Brooke would sing 'Buttons' by the Pussycat Dolls.

_I__'m telling you loosen up my buttons baby (Uh huh)__  
__But you keep fronting (Uh)__  
__Saying what you going do to me (Uh huh)__  
__But I ain't seen nothing (Uh)___

_I'm telling you loosen up my buttons baby (Uh huh)__  
__But you keep fronting (Uh)__  
__Saying what you going do to me (Uh huh)__  
__But I ain't seen nothing (Uh)_

Everyone in the club was cheering her on as she strutted around the stage, pulling out a few tricky dance moves that she no doubt had gotten from the music video. Arizona wasn't drunk enough for this and as she let her head fall into her hands she felt a firm hand rubbing circles on her back and the next thing she knew there was a mouth almost touching her ear and breathing down her neck.

"I'm going to get you another drink. She's got a few more songs left in her I think" Callie gently kissed Arizona on the forehead before giggly as she made her way to the bar.

_Typical__  
__Hardly the type I fall for__  
__I like when the physical__  
__Don't leave me asking for more__  
__I'm a sexy mama (mama)__  
__Who knows just how to get what I wanna (wanna)__  
__What I want to do is spring this on you (on you)__  
__Back up all of the things that I told you (told you)___

_You've been saying all the right things all night long__  
__But I can't seem to get you over here to help take this off__  
__Baby, can't you see? (see)__  
__How these clothes are fitting on me (me)__  
__And the heat coming from this beat (beat)__  
__I'm about to blow__  
__I don't think you know_

Mark and Cristina were enjoying the show so much that they were standing up and clapping. Arizona shook her head in defeat as she realised there were a lot of people in the club who were getting into the performance. There was no way Brooke was going to stop at one song, not while she had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand anyway.

When Callie returned she placed two shots of Tequila in front of Arizona as well as the biggest long island ice tea she had ever seen. The blonde unceremoniously threw back both her shots of Tequila when she heard the next song starting. 'Animals' By Nickelback was not a song she ever wanted her baby sister to sing out loud let alone to a club full of people.

_I, I'm driving black on black__  
__Just got my license back__  
__I got this feeling in my veins__  
__This train is coming off the track__  
__I'll ask polite if the devil needs a ride__  
__Because the angel on my right__  
__Ain't hanging out with me tonight__  
__I'm driving past your house__  
__While you were sneaking out__  
__I got the car door opened up__  
__So you can jump in on the run__  
__Your mom don't know__  
__That you were missing__  
__She'd be pissed if she could see__  
__The parts of you that I've been kissing_

It was clear that not many people in the club knew this song but it didn't stop them from enjoying it. Arizona could even see Callie and Teddy bobbing their heads up and down, both of them sporting large grins as they watched the confident blonde take control of the stage. It wasn't that Brooke had an awful voice or anything, in fact she had quite a good voice but the last time the two sisters had gone to a karaoke bar together they ended up in the emergency room because Brooke had stolen some girls song and the girl had decided that smashing a wine bottle over Arizona's head was the way to punish Brooke.

To this very day Arizona had two scars from that night, one on her jaw line just under her left ear and one on her left shoulder. So karaoke was almost like an extreme sport to Arizona.

_Screamin' oh__  
__We're never gonna quit__  
__Ain't nothin' wrong with it__  
__Just actin' like we're animals__  
__No, no matter where we go__  
__'Cause everybody knows__  
__We're just a couple animals___

_So come on baby, get in__  
__Get in, just get in__  
__Check out the trouble we're in___

_You're beside me on the seat__  
__Got your hand between my knees__  
__And you control how fast we go__  
__By just how hard you wanna squeeze__  
__It's hard to steer__  
__When you're breathing in my ear__  
__But I got both hands on the wheel__  
_

As Brooke made it to half way through the next song Arizona felt the tequila beginning to have its effect. She was suddenly a lot warmer and her muscles had relaxed immensely, this could also have been due to the fact that she was now standing with Callie's arms wrapped tightly around her waist from behind as they swayed back and forth to 'Let's Get It On' By Marvin Gaye. Brooke sure did know how to pick the songs.

_I've been really tryin', baby__  
__Tryin' to hold back this feelin' for so long__  
__And if you feel like I feel, baby__  
__Then come on, oh, come on__  
__Whoo, let's get it on__  
__Ah, babe, let's get it on__  
__Let's love, baby__  
__Let's get it on, sugar__  
__Let's get it on__  
__Whoo-ooh-ooh___

_We're all sensitive people__  
__With so much to give__  
__Understand me, sugar__  
__Since we got to be__  
__Let's live__  
__I love you_

It was a little strange that everyone was getting so into it. It was a slow song but everyone was up and dancing. There seemed to be a lot of couples at this club but Arizona was sure that she was with the most beautiful woman in the place. Callie continued to hold her tight as they danced close, with Arizona now facing toward her lover. The brunette was singing gently into Arizona ear as they moved to the beat of the music, she wasn't sure how this random karaoke night had turned into a sensual experience but it had.

_There's nothin' wrong__  
__With me lovin' you__  
__Baby, no, no__  
__And givin' yourself to me can never be wrong__  
__If the love is true__  
__Oh, babe, ooh, ooh___

_Don't you know__  
__How sweet and wonderful life can be?__  
__Whoo-ooh__  
__I'm askin' you, baby__  
__To get it on with me__  
__Ooh, ooh, ooh___

_I ain't gonna worry, I ain't gonna push__  
__Won't push you, baby__  
__So come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, baby__  
__Stop beatin' 'round the bush, hey___

_Let's get it on, ooh, ooh__  
__Let's get it on__  
__You know what I'm talkin' 'bout__  
__Come on, baby, hey, hey__  
__Let your love come out__  
__If you believe in love__  
__Let's get it on, ooh, ooh__  
__Let's get it on, baby__  
__This minute, oh yeah__  
__Let's get it on__  
__Please, please, get it on__  
__Hey, hey__  
_

As Brooke ended her third song she decided that she'd hand the microphone over to someone else for a little while but not before reassuring everyone that she would be back to sing some more later. Callie made her way back to the bar for more drinks and as the crowd erupted in loud cheers at the sight of other people stepping up to the microphone Arizona realised that maybe this had been a great idea after all. That was until she saw long legs and a mass of fiery red hair walking toward her.


	36. Chapter 36

**CHAPTER 36**

**ARIZONA**

As a doctor, one hardly ever finds themselves pacing the waiting room. The doctor is usually not the person frantically trying to get information out of anyone who looks in their direction. It's generally the waiting doctor's job to put the loved ones pacing the waiting room at ease. Arizona had on many occasions delivered both good and bad news to those frantic people that never seemed to be able to sit still in this creepily bare room. She had always wondered if they couldn't sit still because of how uncomfortable the chairs were or if it was something else entirely. In the 45 minutes the blonde surgeon has been confined to this ridiculous room she hadn't even thought about taking a seat in one of the chairs. Maybe they weren't uncomfortable at all, maybe just like her the people who generally occupied this room simply never thought to take a seat.

This wasn't exactly how she envisioned her night ending. About an hour ago all she could think about was her gorgeous girlfriend and how much she wanted to take her home and make love to her, but now she felt like she couldn't breathe, like her world had been turned on its axis and was now spinning incorrectly. As soon as Arizona had seen Lauren walking towards her in the club she knew something was wrong, the red head wasn't walking tall like she usually did and her face was streaked with tears. Lauren didn't even have to say anything; Arizona somehow just knew that it was him. Something had happened to Joshua and the blonde hadn't been there. This was yet another thing Arizona was going to add to her fast growing list of regrets when it came to the boy she once considered her son, perhaps she still considered him her son. At this point Arizona wasn't completely sure how she felt about the boy, which is why she had been putting off seeing him for the past 4 days. However, now he was in the hospital and she may never again get the chance to look into the beautiful green eyes that she saw every night in her dreams for the past 5 years.

"Arizona?" the voice of her girlfriend broke her from her daze.

"Huh?" Arizona knew that Callie had been speaking to her but she honestly hadn't heard a word of what was said.

"Baby maybe you should go over there" Callie was gesturing towards the red head in the corner. Lauren was a blubbering mess; she hadn't stopped sobbing since they arrived back at the hospital. Arizona didn't really know what to say to her, she barely knew what to say to the parents of her patients when she actually knew what the hell was going on. This was an entirely new experience for the PEDS surgeon and it was one that she wasn't enjoying at all.

"What am I supposed to say to her?" Arizona had never felt more lost and she turned to Callie with pleading eyes. It was only on a very rare occasion that the blonde looked to her girlfriend to be the support or the voice of reason but she desperately needed Callie to be that for her now.

"Maybe you don't have to say anything" the brunette placed a gentle kiss on Arizona's temple and guided her toward the cowering red head in the corner.

* * *

**CALLIE**

It was torture for Callie to watch Arizona wrapping her arms around the sobbing red head in the corner of the room. Her blood was boiling and all she really wanted to do was yell and scream, letting the whole world and especially the devilish red head know that Arizona was hers. However, this wasn't about her and this wasn't about her relationship with Arizona, it wasn't even about Arizona's relationship with Lauren. It was about Joshua.

The charming little boy that Callie had spent a wonderful afternoon with was fighting for his life and it was tearing her up inside. She knew that if Joshua didn't make it and Arizona didn't get a chance to see him and try to make things right with him, she wouldn't recover. Arizona was strong, she had this magical way of distancing herself and most of the time she remained emotionless but Callie knew that this would break her. She also knew that the only other person in this world who could possibly know how Arizona was feeling right now was Lauren, so as much as it pained her Callie knew that they needed each other right now.

"Dying kid or no dying kid, she's still got nothing on you Torres" Mark draped a drunken arm over her shoulder. He was just trying to help, she knew this but he was being extremely insensitive in this moment.

"Mark I think maybe you should go home. Thank you for being here but you're drunk and Arizona doesn't need your comments right now" Callie pried his hand away from her shoulder and signalled for Teddy to come and take him off her hands.

"Come on Mark let's go back to your place. Callie will call us if she hears anything" of course Mark was reluctant to leave but he left surprisingly without too much of a fuss. Callie grinned to herself when she realised how good for him Teddy was.

* * *

They had been sitting around for two and a half hours waiting for news on Joshua's condition. When they had arrived at the hospital he was seizing and he had flat lined shortly after but since then they hadn't heard anything. Callie wasn't even sure what had happened to the boy. Lauren had been muttering something about only leaving him alone for a little while and then she had fallen in a heap on the floor, where she has been for the past two hours. Arizona was now sitting with her and had her arms wrapped around the shaking red head. It was difficult for Callie to watch the two of them, the way they touched each other, the way Arizona comforted her like she knew what she needed sent chills up Callie's spin but this wasn't the time to be petty or jealous so she pushed her feelings aside.

Bailey came bursting into the room causing everyone to jump to their feet and race towards her at the door.

"Ok Ok. Everyone calm down. He had a severe allergic reaction but it also looks like he sustained a nasty fall. He's just come out of surgery where we had to repair his liver and deal with some internal bleeding but he's stable and he's going to be just fine" Bailey was ever the professional. She didn't seem to be fazed by the way Lauren was groping at her, she simply took the red heads hand in her own tiny surgeon hands and spoke to her calmly before leading her out of the room.

Callie watched as Arizona let go of Lauren's hand and stood stock still in the doorway. The red head shot Arizona a pained look before being dragged away by Bailey. As Callie approached her silent girlfriend, she wasn't crying or freaking out. Anyone who didn't know Arizona would think that she was handling this whole situation very well but Callie knew better. A calm, sedated Arizona was far worse than a panicked ranting one.

"Baby, are you okay?" Callie brushed a stray hair from Arizona's angelic face.

"I can't do this. I can't just go in there and… I mean he doesn't even know me" it was breaking Callie's heart to see the woman she loved looking so broken. The brunette knew that Arizona was scared of her first meeting with Joshua, she feared that the boy wouldn't know her, that he wouldn't like her. Of course it was impossible for anyone not to like Arizona, just ask Cristina Yang.

"Yes you can. You can do this Ari, and I think that in some way he does remember you. He drew you remember? You're in his dreams. That has to mean something" Callie began rubbing circles on Arizona's lower back, knowing that it would sooth her. She watched as the blonde closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the gentle ministrations of her girlfriend relax her.

* * *

Even after Callie's rousing speech, it still took Arizona the best part of an hour to psych herself up enough to go anywhere near the PEDS ward let alone inside Joshua's room. Clearly the brunette rock-star ortho surgeon wasn't quite as eloquent as her beautiful girlfriend because Arizona was still standing just outside Joshua's hospital room looking very much like she needed a cigarette.

Callie was feeling so helpless that she almost felt like offering her love a death stick if it would calm her down.

"Ari, are you going to go in?" Callie knew she had to speak up or Arizona would be there all night just pacing around and mumbling incoherently to herself.

Before Arizona could reply to Callie's question they heard a tiny voice call out. Neither sure they had heard correctly stopped dead in their tracks, staring wide eyed at each other.

"Dr. Callie!" there it was again and this time she was sure that she had heard Joshua's voice calling out to her. He must have seen her pacing up and down in front of the boy's door, which in retrospect was probably not the best place to be hovering around if they didn't want to be seen.

The boy's persistence gave Callie no choice but to give Arizona a quick kiss on the temple before stepping cautiously into Joshua's room.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" Callie greeted the small boy with a giant grin that he reciprocated immediately. He had been awake barely an hour and he was already hard at work on his comic. He was scribbling furiously when Callie entered the room.

"I'm okay, my belly hurts a little but Dr. Bailey says I'm going to have a cool scar when I leave here" Callie couldn't help but laugh at the small boy who seemed ecstatic about the prospect of a cool scar to show off. This kid was definitely a kid after her won heart that was for sure.

"Well scars are pretty rock-star" Callie couldn't have agreed more with the young child but her smile faded a little when she saw him try to move but winced in pain instead and flopped back onto his pillow. Lauren rushed to his side helping him, fluffing his pillow to allow him to sit up so the he could see his visitors without causing him any pain or discomfort.

"Who were you talking to outside Dr. Callie?" oh no. This wasn't the way this conversation was supposed to go. He wasn't supposed to ask about Arizona before she was ready to see him. She had to do this on her own. Or maybe she didn't, maybe this was the push the PEDS surgeon needed and suddenly and idea came to her.

"Urh… well I was talking with my friend Dr. Arizona. She's a doctor for awesome tiny rock-stars like you" Callie announced as energetically as she could. However, it didn't seem like she was fooling Joshua because he was now eyeing her suspiciously. Arizona had obviously also caught on to her because the pacing outside the room had come to an abrupt stop.

Callie began to sweat and the collar of her shirt was all of a sudden feeling very tight around her neck, but she had come this far so she might as well throw herself in the fire now and hope for the best.

"Dr. Arizona, why don't you come in and say hi to my friend Joshua" Callie called out to her girlfriend.

Silence.

It felt like an eternity of strained eye contact and weird facial twitches exchanged between Lauren, Joshua, Callie and the nurse fussing over Joshua's bandage. After a long torturous silence Callie saw blonde curls peeping into the room and she watched as her girlfriend took a deep breath and stepped fully into the room with her signature 1000 mega-watt smile adorning her face.

She wasn't sure why but this was a proud moment for Callie. Arizona was confronting her fears and Callie couldn't help but allow a giant smile to cross her own face as she witnessed the way her girlfriend was looking at the young boy.

"Hi Joshua" the blonde didn't sound as confident as she looked, her voice was quivering a little and it was a few octaves higher than normal. Callie wasn't really all that surprised by Arizona's actions but what she was surprised by was Joshua's reaction. The boy hadn't spoken a word since Arizona entered the room, any semblance of a smile had been quickly erased as soon as he had laid eyes on her and he was now gawking at her with a horrified expression. He kept looking at Arizona and then back to the sketch pad that was sitting in his lap and then back to Arizona again. He was starting to breath heavy and Callie thought the kid was going to have a panic attack.

"Joshua honey, say hello to Arizona" Lauren tried prompting the boy but this only seemed to make the matter worse. His gorgeous green eyes were starting to fill with tears before he lifted the blanket above his head and they could hear his breathing become worse as he went into a full on panic attack.

Callie rushed to his side, ripping the blanket off him and placing her hands on his shoulders gesturing for him to look at her.

"Joshua, look at me. It's okay. There's nothing to be scared of, just breath. Breath with me buddy" Callie was also starting to freak out. She wasn't the one who was good with children. She didn't know how to make a child feel relaxed or calm in her presence, this had always been Arizona's area of expertise but as she looked across the room at her girlfriend all she saw was the blonde's heart breaking. Joshua followed Callie's eyes toward Arizona who was slowly backing out of the room and his trouble breathing only increased.

"He can't breathe, why can't he breathe?" have the child's mother freaking out in the corner was also not helping the situation that was currently getting way out of control.

* * *

**ARIZONA**

She hadn't planned on this being the first meeting between her and Joshua. He was the boy she had sung to sleep every night, the boy who would only let her cradle him when he was sick or hurt and now he couldn't even look at her without having a panic attack. This was a new feeling for Arizona, kids love her, she's in paediatrics but the boy that she devoted four years of her life to seemed to hate her so much that it was making him ill.

She couldn't do it; she had to get out of there. She was clearly the reason Joshua was freaking out so taking herself out of the equation was hopefully going to be enough to help the boy calm down. The blonde swiftly exited the room leaving her girlfriend to take care of the situation, Arizona saw Callie's eyes pleading her to do something to help but the blonde knew that there was nothing she could do in this particular situation and had to hope that Callie wouldn't freak out completely.

She didn't go far, she wanted to be close by in case Joshua's conditioned worsened and she was needed so she stood outside the door listening to Callie trying to sooth him. Arizona smiled as she realised that her girlfriend was doing a pretty good job, she was talking to him calmly and trying to distract him from the situation. The only thing that was hindering Callie's progress was Lauren who was frantically screaming "he can't breathe. He's going blue. What's wrong with him". From what Arizona could tell Lauren hadn't changed much, she still couldn't handle the pressure.

Arizona saw Cristina walking by and grumbling to herself and an idea popped into the perky blonde's mind. She flung herself forward and grabbed Cristina's wrist before pulling her toward the wall outside Joshua's room.

"What the hell Robbins" of course, Cristina wasn't very appreciative of the firm grasp Arizona had on her.

"Cristina I need you to go in there and help Calliope. A 9 year old boy is having a panic attack and his mother is making the situation worse. You need to get her out of there" Cristina must have been able to see the desperation in Arizona's blue orbs because she simply gave a defeated sighed and moved to enter the room. Arizona had to stop her for one more thing; she couldn't believe she didn't think of this earlier.

"Oh and tell Calliope to get him to hum Godspeed" it was clear that Cristina had no idea what Arizona was talking about because she just stood there staring at her with a dumb look on her face.

"She'll know. Just go Cristina" and with that the surly Resident had rolled her eyes for about the zillionth time that day and run into the room.

"Ok red time for you to leave. Let's go!" Arizona almost let a giggle escape her lips when she heard the way Cristina was speaking to Lauren; this would definitely be a new experience for the privileged red head. Lauren fought for all of three seconds before Cristina had wrenched her out of the room and shooed her down the hallway to the waiting room before quickly going back to help Callie.

As she heard the sounds of 'Godspeed' by the Dixie Chicks coming out of Joshua's room she lost it. The tears that she had been holding in for what felt like an eternity were now falling freely; her knees couldn't hold her up anymore and as she felt herself sliding to the floor she had to clutch onto her sides as if to hold herself together. Her body was wracked with heaving sobs as soon as her knees hit the ground, she couldn't control them they just kept escaping from her body.

She didn't know how long she had been lying there on the floor sobbing but when she had finally managed to control her own breathing she was surprised to find herself being held by a strong set of arms.

* * *

**MARK**

This night had been a particularly interesting night for Mark Sloan, it had started off as a random get together with a few people from the hospital which included his ex girlfriend and his new… ummm Teddy. He wasn't sure exactly what they were but they were something and it certainly made for an awkward start to their night, that was until Brookeleigh Robbins decided to shake things up a little, well no actually a lot. Mark found it hard to believe that Brooke and Arizona were sisters, they looked alike but their personalities were just so different that it was hard to fathom the fact that they had spent their entire lives around one another. Or maybe Mark had simply pegged Arizona wrong, she seemed all serious and grown up, a big goodie two-shoes but if Mark were being honest he didn't really hang out with her that much outside of work and when they did hang out it was usually in a group and Callie was always hogging her anyway so it was hard to get a true picture of what a single, work-free Arizona would be like. The more Mark thought about it the more curious he had become so he made a pact with himself to spend a little quality time getting to know the eldest Robbins sister.

Once the crazy red head had shown up at the club screaming and crying like a loony the night had ended fairly quickly. He had followed them all to the hospital but he was ushered away from the waiting room by Teddy not long after they arrived. He liked Teddy but she certainly was a bossy one. However, now here he was sneaking back over to the hospital to check on his friends. He wasn't sure if there would be anything that he could do to help as he was sure that he was probably still too drunk to assist with anything medical but he knew that just being there would say something. Even if it was only to stop Callie from ripping that crazy red heads throat out.

Mark didn't know what was going on but the PEDS floor certainly did look like it was the place to be, there were people bustling about everywhere. It was far too busy for so late at night. That was when he heard it, the sobbing was echoing down the hallway. As he rounded the corner he found Arizona on her knees clutching herself tightly as she rocked back and forth. It broke his heart a little to see her like this. She was always this perky little ball of sunshine and it wasn't until this moment right here that he realised what a dark and cloudy place this hospital had been before the arrival of the heely wearing PEDS surgeon.

Whilst most of the time they all rolled their eyes and felt sick to their stomachs every time she spoke of rainbows and fairy dust or how she insisted on wear a dimply grin no matter the occasion. She could be extremely annoying, everybody thought so and yet the group dynamic had gotten considerably lighter since her arrival and this was something they all enjoyed.

Without further ado Mark bent down and scooped his usually perky friend up into his strong arms. He had expected her to fight him but she didn't, she simply snaked her arms around his neck when she felt him take hold of her around her midsection. As he lifted her up she swiftly wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her head on his manly shoulder. Mark was surprised by the ease in which he was able to carry her, it was like carrying a child and he cradled her rubbing her back and he spoke soothingly to her just like he would if she were a child.

He quickly rushed her off into the empty lunch room and tried to place her on the couch but she clung on to his shirt, not yet wanting to let go. So instead he simply sat on the couch with her and rubbed her back soothingly until he felt her drift off to sleep in his arms. This was going to be an extremely awkward moment when she woke up but for now, Mark was enjoying the comfort just as much as she needed it.


	37. Chapter 37

**CHAPTER 37**

**ARIZONA**

Waking up in the arms of Mark Sloan was definitely on Arizona's list of things she thought would NEVER happen to her. When she woke up to find Mark's manly arms wrapped around her waist and his warm breath grazing gently over her neck as he snored lightly in her ear, it wasn't the gross uncomfortable feeling she would've have thought it would be to wake up in his arms. In fact it was eerily comforting to know that he had cared enough to stay with her as she sobbed.

Arizona felt a sneeze take over her body and as she shuddered with the effects of it she must have frightened Mark because his eyes flew open and he let out a slightly girlish squeal. It seemed as though he had been in a deep sleep because when he woke he was slightly disoriented and was now looking up at her with a confused boyish grin.

"Morning Blondie" Mark was now giving her the raised eyebrow and his trademark dirty smile.

"Don't smile at me like that Mark. It makes me feel like I need a shower" Arizona sighed as she relaxed back into the coach. Neither she nor Mark had yet attempted to move off the coach or away from each other.

"Together?"

"Seriously? You're disgusting" Arizona laughed as she slapped him for his inappropriate comments. He flinched when she hit him but also let out a loud laugh. Mark hadn't had a good night's sleep in months, since he and Lexie had broken up he would toss and turn all night but having Arizona's warm body next to him as she clung to him like she needed him he had finally been able to sleep so he was in an exceptionally good mood this morning.

"I had to try" Mark shrugged as he began stretching his body out. He was definitely far too tall for this tiny coach.

"Well I give you an A for effort" Arizona chuckled lightly as she sat up and tied her hair into a messy ponytail.

"So you would really never sleep with me?" Mark asked casually. Arizona turned to look at him and she could tell by the look on her face he wasn't being dirty or trying to hit on her, he simply looked curious.

"No Mark, I would never sleep with you" Arizona shook her head and stood up, stretching her long legs for the first time in what felt like days.

"Why?"

"Because you have a penis Mark" Arizona stated matter-of-factly hoping that her explanation would be enough for him, although she suspected that it wouldn't be.

"That's really the only reason?" Mark was almost sounding insecure now and Arizona was starting to feel bad for him. His ego was something that Mark Sloane held dear and of late it had been severely bruised.

"That's the only reason" she felt almost as though she was speaking with a child who was having some self confidence issues.

"So hypothetically, if I were a woman you would sleep with me?" Arizona saw Mark's eyes light up with hope and she couldn't help but smile at his changed demeanour.

"Yes I would probably sleep with you"

"Just sleep with me? Or would you date me?"

"This is a ridiculous hypothetical Mark"

"Answer the question Robbins"

"There's no Callie in your hypothetical?"

"Nope. She doesn't exist"

"If there's no Calliope Torres, I'm not in a relationship and you're a woman than… yes I would date you" Arizona concedes to Mark's line of questioning with a grin on her face. She hasn't seen Mark smile this wide since little Sloane Sloane and baby Sloane left town.

"In this alternate universe, I think we'd be very happy together" Arizona can't help but laugh at Mark's smug statement and she comes up with a question of her own.

"Okay, I got a question for you. Would you cheat on me in this alternate universe of yours?" Arizona raises an eyebrow at Seattle's resident Manwhore.

"If the rumours are true Robbins, I think you're more than skilled enough to keep me from straying" Mark says this statement with a knowing wink causing Arizona to blush profusely. Clearly Callie had been over-sharing again.

**ARIZONA**

She had spent her morning running through ridiculous hypotheticals with Mark. He was certainly a creative thinker. As ridiculous as their conversations had been that morning it was definitely something the blonde needed. She needed to get outside herself for a little while, to not think about the devastating events of the previous day and Mark had been her Knight in shining armour.

Callie had found the two of them rolling around laughing on the floor of the Attendings lounge and Mark had excused himself almost immediately.

"Are you ok?" Callie asked softly as she made her way across the room towards Arizona who was now setting herself up on the coach.

"I'm fine. How's Joshua?" Arizona didn't want to look at Callie when she heard the answer to her question so she stared down at the floor.

"He's fine. He was just a little shocked. He recognised you from his drawings and it freaked him out a little but he's okay now" Callie made her way over to the coach and sidled up to her girlfriend, rubbing calming circles on her back.

"That's good. Thank you for being there Calliope" Arizona finally looked up into the eyes of the woman she was so madly in love with that sometimes it hurt. She felt her eyes burn with the onslaught of her tears.

"You don't have to thank me Ari. But you know what, after he calmed down and I told him all about how amazing you are he said he'd like to meet you" Callie used her right hand to brush away the lone tear that had fallen upon Arizona's angelic face.

"Really?" the blonde managed to squeak out.

"Ari, you're his hero. You're in his dreams, in his drawings. You're in every part of this kid Arizona I can promise you that and he wants to see you" the blonde couldn't believe what she was hearing but she knew that Callie would never lie to her.

"Okay" was the only response she could come up with as she broke down in her lovers arms.


	38. Chapter 38

Callie watched through the doorway of her and Arizona's room as Joshua spoke animatedly to an overly excited Arizona. They were both sitting on the bed, crossed legged, their knees almost touching. It had been a few weeks since Arizona's initial meeting with the young child, that meeting had not gone as well as everyone had hoped but a few days later the blonde went back to see him and he was much more receptive to her. Joshua was still a little reserved and shy in his first meetings with Arizona, Callie could only assume it was because he was still trying to determine whether she was real or not.

Now, almost a month later and Joshua could not stop talking about Arizona. The entire apartment was full of crazy drawings the two of them had come up with, much to Callie's surprise it turns out that Arizona is an exceptional artist much like Joshua. The PEDs surgeon and the young boy had been locking themselves away in the room for days now whispering to each other and scribbling away on the sketch pads Arizona had brought the boy on her third visit to the hospital.

Callie hadn't seen Arizona this happy in a really long time. It was amazing to watch Joshua and Arizona together, they were so similar but somewhere deep down Callie was a little jealous. She knew it was wrong to be jealous of the relationship Arizona and Joshua were forging but she just couldn't help herself. As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted to be the mother of Arizona's child and she resented Lauren for being the one who was. As far as Callie knew Arizona still didn't want any more children. She had told Callie she didn't want children before the brunette had found out about Joshua and they hadn't talked about it since Joshua's arrival so Callie really had no idea where Arizona stood on the matter.

"Hey you" Arizona had noticed Callie standing in the doorway and was now smiling up at her with the most beautiful dimpled smile Callie had ever seen. Sitting on the bed next to Arizona was another dimpled smile that melted her heart.

"Hey! Look what Zona and I made?" the boy held up an exquisite drawing. She noticed immediately that she was the dark haired beauty in this drawing.

"Who's that?" Callie asked as she made her way over to the bed.

"That's Calliope. She's super strong and super smart and super brave" once Joshua had learned Callie's real name he had fallen in love with it. He had said that he thought it sounded like the name of a Goddess. The kid was certainly a charmer that's for sure.

"Oh right she sound pretty awesome! Who's the blonde beauty?" Callie questioned. She played along with his little game, she was sure he knew that she knew who the characters really were but no one felt the need to say it out loud.

"That's Calliope's soulmate 'Z'; she's the protector of all the tiny humans" it was truly amazing how observant this child was. They had never spoken to him about their relationship and yet somehow he seemed to know.

"She's pretty" Callie smiled brightly and gave Arizona a little wink. Callie's heart melted when she noticed a slight blush creep up Arizona's neck and bury itself in her cheeks.

"I made you something else tho. It's a real life picture" Arizona and Callie watched the boy bounce off the bed and run into the lounge room.

"Hey baby. I miss you today" Callie sat on the edge of the bed near Arizona and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek.

"Me too. Look at this one" Arizona held up a drawing of The Goddess Calliope, Z and an unusually muscley guy.

"Who's that supposed to be?" Callie screwed up her nose in confusion as Arizona let out a giggle.

"That is Captain Mark" Arizona was doing her best to keep a straight face.

"Oh God. He is going to LOVE that" they both burst into laughter as Joshua comes running back into the room and pouncing on the bed once again.

"Here, this is for you" the boy shoves a manila folder into Callie hands and positions himself so that he is sitting almost in Arizona's lap.

Callie opens the folder to find three different drawings. One is of her and Joshua and the other two are of her and Arizona. They are so beautiful and it almost brings Callie to tears as she notices how intimate one of the pictures of her and Arizona is. Joshua was certainly one extremely observant boy.

"Thank you so much Joshua. These are amazing" Callie manages to choke out while trying to hold back her tears. She feels Arizona's hand run up and down her back soothingly.

"You're welcome" Joshua drops his sketch book and it flips open to a page with a red headed woman, a small boy and a dark haired man. Arizona studies is curiously before picking it up.

"Is this you and mommy?" Arizona questions the boy.

"Yeah. I made it for her. She's been real sad; I thought it might cheer her up" Callie and Arizona shot each other guilty glances before turning back to Joshua and smiling at how thoughtful he was being.

"Who's the man in the picture?" Callie doesn't recognise him and by the look on Arizona's face she doesn't either.

"That's my daddy" Joshua states casually.

Callie hears Arizona gasp softly. Lauren had never mentioned anything about Joshua's father and up until now Joshua had never mentioned him either. It was probably stupid of them but no one had really talked much about the situation at hand. Arizona had been spending every waking hour that she wasn't at the hospital with Joshua but she had yet to talk to Lauren about what sort of role she would play in the boy's life, Callie hadn't wanted to push Arizona into making a decision but now she wished she had. Joshua wasn't aware that he thought of Arizona as his mother for the first four years of his life. He knew that Arizona had known him when he was a small child and had been shown a few photos of them together but other than that the boy was in the dark about the situation.

"Your daddy?" Callie was the first to speak. Arizona had yet to move or breathe let alone speak so Callie knew she would have to be the one to get the information from the boy.

"Yeah. He's in California. Mommy said she didn't want to live with him anymore so we came here, but daddy says we'll live together again when mommy stops being mad at him" Callie's heart was breaking for the small boy in front of her who had been told so many lies. He had been ripped away from his mother and given a father and now he had been ripped away from his father too. But mostly Callie's heart broke for Arizona, the brunette watched as her beautiful girlfriend failed to keep the tears from falling.

"Why are you crying Zona?" Joshua had also noticed how upset Arizona was and proceeded to plant himself in her lap, wrapping his little arms around her neck and giving her a tight squeeze.

"I'm just sad for you. You must miss your daddy a lot huh?" Arizona was doing her best to stay strong in front of Joshua but Callie knew that all the PEDS surgeon wanted to do was cry her eyes out.

"Yeah but mommy never stays mad for too long. My daddy said I have to look after mommy while we're away because I'm the man when he's not around. So when she's feeling better we'll go back to California and see my daddy. So you don't need to be sad Zona, mommy will feel better soon" Joshua was honestly the sweetest child Callie had ever seen. He was totally convinced that he and his mommy were on a little vacation and that soon he would be reunited with his daddy and his life would go back to the way it was before.


	39. Chapter 39

"Jesus Zona, it's as hot as Satan's toe nails in here" Brooke exhaled as she entered Arizona and Callie's apartment and threw herself on the lounge but not before taking as much of her clothing off as would be decent in this situation.

"Well you know what? Nobody asked you to stop by so you could always leave if you don't like the temperature" Arizona snapped at her little sister which was a little surprising to Brooke. If there was one thing in this world that Brooke could count on it was her big sister's sunny disposition.

"Wow ok, weapons down… Turn the fire breather off lady!" Brooke was doing her best to lighten the mood, although she doubted that was going to be possible with the scorching temperature in this apartment.

"Look Calliope's sick so I don't really have time to mollycoddle you right now" Arizona was acting very strange, she definitely wasn't being her usual perky self and it wasn't starting to irk Brooke.

"Callie's sick? What's wrong with- Wait! Oh my God, you're not steaming her are you?" Arizona gave Brooke a look that meant she was indeed giving Callie her infamous steam treatment.

"Oh I gotta see this" Brooke leapt up off the couch and bolted into Callie and Arizona's bedroom.

"Brookeleigh Robbins, get back here!" Arizona was hot on her heels.

The bedroom was empty but it was even hotter in the bedroom than it had been in the living area which seemed like it would be impossible. Brooke made her way into the bathroom before Arizona could catch her.

The moment she laid eyes on Callie's half naked form she burst out laughing. Callie looked up at her from her position on the floor, she didn't seem to be embarrassed by her lack of clothing or the fact that Brooke was making no effort to look away. Of course it wasn't long before Arizona was tearing her way into the bathroom.

"Seriously Brooke? Was I the only child mom and dad taught manners to?" Arizona was shoving a towel at Callie, hinting for her to cover herself up. However it was far too hot in the small bathroom for the Latina to cover herself up and she just didn't care enough about Brooke seeing her in her underwear.

"Well I'm sure they taught them to Danny too. Although he hasn't had much use for manners in recent years" Brooke had always used humour to cover up the hurt over her brother's death. She figured that since Danny was so full of humour and sarcasm in his living years she may as well carry it on for him after his death.

Callie couldn't help herself and let out a sliver of a giggle at Brooke's morbid joke about her dead bother.

"Seriously, he's been quite rude recently. He never returns my phone calls…" she was smiling at Callie mischievously and the two of them could tell that Arizona was getting fired up and yet neither of them could wipe the grins off of their faces.

"You don't just walk into a person's bedroom without knocking and you definitely don't barge into their bathroom and stare at the half naked girlfriend" Arizona had completely ignored Brooke's attempts at making a joke and had instead continued on with her lecturing.

"Ari, she's your sister and besides she's straight anyway" Callie's voice was breaking and Brooke could tell that the Latina was ill.

"I don't know Cal. You do have a pretty nice rack. One word from you and I think I might jump the fence" Brooke sends a conspiratorial wink Callie's way.

"You know what? Fine! I hope you two have a happy life together" Arizona begins storming out of the bathroom leaving Brooke and Callie laughing hysterically at her retreating form.

"Thanks Zona! You're blessing means a lot to us" Brooke calls out as she flops down onto the floor next to Callie. She takes her pants off so that she is sitting in only her panties and a white tank top. The two of them just look at each other exhaustedly; the temperature in the small room was sucking up all their energy. Both women began to allow their eyes to slowly close but before long they were startled by Arizona entering the room again hastily.

"You won't be thanking me when she complains you to death because she has a cold" Arizona throws her comment at Brooke before retreating once again. Only to return seconds later.

"And you! Don't think that just because she's a Robbins she automatically knows the Robbins method. So have fun living a life without multiple orgasms" and with that last comment she was gone again. Leaving Callie staring off after her with her mouth agape and Brooke was now shaking her head with her face scrunches up in disgust.

"Well I'll add that to the growing list of things I never wanted to know about my big sister" Brooke laughed as the nudged Callie who was almost passing out.

Brooke got up to turn the steamer off before returning to her spot on the floor next to her sister's girlfriend.

"What's up perky's ass? I thought she was all creepy happy now that Joshua's back?" Brooke received a look from Callie that made her stomach turn. It was clear by the look in the raven heard beauties eyes that all was not well on the Joshua front.

"What? What don't I know?"

"I don't think Joshua is going to be around much longer" Callie relayed sadly.

"What do you mean? If that bitch even tries to do a runner I swear to God I'll skin her like a, ah, a… you know what screw this. Imma just go kill her now" Brooke tried to push herself up from the ground hastily but was pulled back down by a strong bone breaking arm.

"It's not Lauren. She hasn't done anything. In fact she dropped some papers off yesterday for Arizona to sign. Giving her partial custody" this sounded like a good thing so Brooke couldn't understand why Callie still looked sad.

"I don't get it. That's what she wanted right?"

"Yeah I guess. But last week Joshua was showing us some of his drawings. He showed us one of him with his mommy on one side" Callie paused for a little while, like it was almost painful to continue.

"And his daddy on the other" Callie continued. Brooke could have sworn she saw tears forming in Callie's eyes

"Oh" was all Brooke could manage so say.

"The poor little guy was telling us all about how his daddy is still in New York and that he's waiting for him to come back. It was so sad Brooke. I mean he loves Arizona but he misses his daddy" Brooke could tell that Callie was upset by this whole situation, maybe even more so than Arizona.

After all, Brooke knew that Arizona didn't want children and she had apparently told Callie as much. Arizona had also told Brooke that Callie did want children and had given up any hope of having them in order to be with her. So in a way Joshua was Callie's chance at having some semblance of the family she dreamed of having with Arizona. It wasn't perfect but it was an idea that Callie had grown fond of, not to mention the fact that Joshua had managed to steal all of their hearts in the process.

"She's sending them back isn't she?" Brooke asked sadly, already knowing the answer. Callie simply nodded her confirmation.

"I should probably go talk to her" the young woman stood up to leave as Callie gave her an encouraging smile. It was amazing to see how invested in all this Callie truly was and Brooke couldn't help but think to herself how lucky her sister was to have found someone like her.

"I prayed for you" Brooke blurted out without even thinking. She let out a small laugh when she saw the perplexed look on Callie's face.

"I don't really believe in God. I mean, I believe in something I just wasn't sure ya know? But I prayed that my sister would find someone worthy of her. Someone who's capable of loving the way that she loves… and here you are. So I guess maybe there is a God after all" she couldn't help herself she had to rush over to the beautiful Latina and pull her into a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you for making me believe in God Callie" she whispered into the brunette's ear before dashing off to the kitchen where she could hear her sister slamming around angrily.


	40. Chapter 40

**Hi everyone... i'm thinking the next chapter is going to be the last one... maybe i'll do a short Epilogue too. this story has gone on long enough i think lol**

**Enjoy!**

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**ARIZONA**

"You're making a mistake Zona" Brooke was almost pleading with her big sister to change her mind.

"What would you know Brooke? When it comes to your personal life you don't have a responsible bone in your body" Arizona snapped.

The blonde knew that she was taking out her frustrations on her little sister but she just couldn't help it. She was feeling so many different emotions and she didn't have it in her right now to have this conversation with Brooke.

"Yeah okay Arizona. You're right. But how about we focus on your mental deficit first and then we'll move on to mine?" there weren't many people in this world that could keep up with Arizona when she got going but Brooke was certainly someone who could. Growing up the two of them had gotten into some horrific word battles, even their parents had not wanted to get involved but behind their sometimes heated exchanges there was always respect and above all else love.

"What do you want me to say? I really don't have it in me to fight with you right now" Arizona slumped her body over the kitchen bench. She felt utterly defeated.

"Tell me that you're not going to send Joshua away. Tell me that you're not going to give up this chance at being his mother" Brooke was begging her now. Arizona knew how much Brooke wanted this for her, how much she worried that Arizona would end up alone.

"I can't"

"Arizona please" tears were starting to form in her baby sisters eyes and it was breaking her heart. This whole situation with Lauren and Joshua had really taken a toll on Brooke. Arizona knew that the younger Robbins had always blamed herself for the hurt that she had felt at the hands of Lauren so she also knew that Brooke saw this as not only Arizona's second chance at being Joshua's mother but her chance at letting go of some of her guilt.

"I can't do it Brooke. I can't keep that precious little boy away from his daddy. He doesn't remember me, not in that way. I knew it from the second I laid eyes on him. He's not my son Brooke. Not anymore and you know what maybe he never was" Arizona had really thought a lot about this in the past few days since Joshua had told her about his father and although she had loved Joshua with everything she had. Would she have chosen to have him if he were not forced upon her?

"What are you talking about Zona? You were that kids everything and he was yours" she could tell it was going to be near impossible to explain herself to her little sister but if there was anyone in this world that deserved and explanation, it was Brooke.

"You're totally right. He was my everything but let's face it before Lauren showed up on my doorstep one night crying and pregnant I never wanted kids. You know better than anybody that never in my entire life have I felt the need to be a mother but I'm a good man in a storm and I loved Lauren and I knew it was the right thing to do. Did I ever regret it? No of course not but shouldn't a person become somebody's mother because they want to? Not because it's the right thing to do?" Arizona knew that none of this was coming out the way that she wanted it to. She wasn't even sure what she was trying to say. All she knew was that it felt like the right thing to do here.

"I know you Arizona and I know you've never wanted kids but then Joshua came along and you were the happiest I've ever seen you" Brooke had made her way across the kitchen and was now standing mere inches away from Arizona. She reached out and took her big sisters hand in her own, forcing Arizona to make eye contact with her.

"This is the right thing to do. I did the right thing 7 years ago and I need to do the right thing again. The least I can do for that kid is be consistent. Just let me do the right thing one more time, please Brooke. I need you for this part" Arizona really needed her sister's support here. Callie was doing her best to support her but Arizona had noticed the brunette pull away a little in the past few days, it seemed as though it was all getting to be a bit too much for her beautiful girlfriend and quite frankly Arizona couldn't blame her. The blonde just wanted things to go back to normal, back to how they used to be between her and Callie. She wanted to look forward to their future together instead of trying to relive her past.

"Okay Zona. Okay. I just don't want you to miss out that's all. They say that being a parent is one of the best things this world has to offer and I know that you made up your mind a long time ago never to have children so having once forced on you was really the only way it was ever going to happen and I just… I don't know Zona, I want you to have everything in this world and now I know that this is one thing you'll never have and it break my heart. I just felt like this was your last chance ya know?" Arizona couldn't help but smile at her rambling little sister. Brooke had tears pouring down her face and she looked just as sweet and innocent as the day she was born. That was the last day she had ever looked sweet and innocent too. Brooke was a terror growing up. Her parents had a hard time raising her and the only person that could ever talk sense into the outrageous child had always been Arizona.

"Come here you" Arizona pulled her little sister over to the couch before bringing her close for a bone crushing hug. There wasn't a person in this world she loved more than her baby sister. They had been through everything together and she knew that they would always be there for each other no matter what, even when they vehemently disagreed with one another they were always able to suck it up and be there for each other.

"Whatever you need Zona. I'm here for you okay?" Brooke sobbed into Arizona's hair as she allowed her big sister to calm her down by rubbing gentle circles on her back like she used to when she as a child.

"I know. Thankyou babycakes" Arizona repositioned them so that Brooke was lying with her head in Arizona's lap while she ran her fingers through her hair soothingly. It was funny how taking care of her little sister had always made Arizona's own problems seem far away. It was the way it worked between the two of them. A few minutes later Brooke was drifting off to sleep in Arizona's lap.

"I just wanted you to have a family so you wouldn't be alone" Brooke mumbled before slipping into a deep slumber. Arizona smiled and kissed the top of her sister's head just as Callie came sauntering out of the bedroom still in only her underwear.

"Don't count me out just yet little sister. I think I've found my second chance" Arizona whispered, her eyes never leaving her stunning girlfriend who was now fishing around in the fridge. When Arizona looked at Callie she found herself questioning everything she had thought she ever knew about herself and everything she had ever wanted. When she looked at Callie she felt like anything was possible, even things she never knew she wanted. Until now.


	41. Chapter 41

hi everyone. i know its been waaaaay too long but the final installment is finally here! there might be a sequel. not sure. should here be one? hmmm haven't made up my mind. i hope you enjoy this last chapter and thankyou for sticking with it this long :-)

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**ARIZONA**

It had taken everything Arizona had to say goodbye to Joshua. This was a child she had loved and lost so many times over that she really couldn't bear the thought of it anymore. Lauren had been hard to convince and she was genuinely shocked when Arizona had suggested the she take Joshua home to see his father. Arizona understood Lauren's actions, she didn't agree with them but she understood. Lauren had made a mistake, she had walked away from their life together all those years ago and she was now filled with hurt and regret.

However, sometimes when you make a mistake whether it is big or small, you have to learn to live with the consequences of those mistakes. The consequence in this situation was that Arizona had moved on and found a bigger and better love than the one she had shared with Lauren. There would always be a place for Lauren in Arizona's heart, after all she had spent a great deal of her life loving the red head and they had for a short time shared a child. But Arizona was now entering another stage of her life, she wanted to share her world with one person and one person only. Calliope Torres was that person.

Arizona had planned on talking to Callie tonight about their future. About where they were now and where they wanted to go from here. The whole Joshua fiasco had sent Arizona into a tail spin; it had made her think about things she had never thought about before and the blonde finally saw a clear picture of what her future with Callie could be. Unfortunately Callie hadn't shown up at the apartment yet and their friends had made themselves comfortable in their living room.

"Arizona, are you okay?" Arizona heard a voice break her from her thoughts. The blonde hadn't realised that she had been sitting on the couch ignoring the conversation in favour of her own thoughts.

"Yeah I'm fine" Arizona flashed Teddy her brightest smile of assurance. Her best friend eyed her suspiciously before patting her thigh lightly and continuing her conversation with Cristina.

Arizona spent the next ten minutes trying to get involved in the conversations between Teddy, Cristina and Bailey. It wasn't that what they were talking about was boring but she just couldn't concentrate, she couldn't keep her eyes off the clock. Callie had finished work almost three hours ago and the fact that she hadn't called to say she was going to be late was really bugging Arizona, especially because there was something really important that she wanted to talk to the Latina about.

As if on cue, the front door was swung open revealing a smirking Mark Sloan.

"I just want to point out that I had nothing to do with it" Mark spoke up as he gestured towards the still open door before making his way to the kitchen, carrying a carton of beer.

As Mark began filling the fridge with the beer he had brought with him Callie clumsily burst through the front door followed by an equally stumbling Brooke. Both women were laughing uncontrollably and their faces were a bright pink colour. It was clear to anyone within a five mile radius that they were heavily intoxicated.

"Heeeey!" Callie yelled a greeting to everyone sitting in the living room.

"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" Brooke whined as she kicked her shoes off her feet and stumbled into the kitchen where Mark passed her a beer over his shoulder.

"I think it's just you" Arizona replied sternly to her little sister.

"Oh Zony Bear what are you doing home? Cal said you were on-call tonight" Brooke looked genuinely surprised to see her big sister standing in front of her, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"Arizona's here? Where?" Callie yelled from the bedroom, she had taken herself straight in there after entering the apartment and she hadn't noticed her girlfriend's presence.

"She's in here but she doesn't look happy. She's doing that squinty eye thing" Brooke called back to Callie. It was as if Arizona wasn't there. If the blonde wasn't so pissed off by their behaviour she would have laughed at the way Callie and Brooke seemed to get along so well.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here. Where have you two been? Well that's a silly questions I suppose. It's quite obvious you've both been bathing in Tequila" Arizona spat out as she took the beer from Brooke's hand and tipped it down the sink causing an obnoxious pout to form on her little sister's face.

"Has someone got Tequila?" Cristina piped up at the sound of her favourite beverage. A dirty look from Arizona told the young Resident that now was perhaps the wrong time to be suggesting Tequila shots.

"Hi baby" Callie greeted Arizona with a cheeky grin as she entered the kitchen wearing the smallest pair of shorts she owned and a tank top. Mark who had been leaning up against the fridge this whole time with a smile on his face almost choked on his beer when he noticed Callie's barely there outfit. Arizona didn't even have to look at Mark to know that his jaw was hanging open and the drooling was about to begin.

"Move along Mark" Arizona simply told him, her eyes never leaving Callie's delicious body. When she didn't hear him making any effort to move she grabbed the tea towel from the bench in front of her, spinning around and whipping him across the side of the head with it. Shocking him out of his daze he realised he was staring inappropriately and decided for his own safety he'd better make himself scarce.

"We'll talk about this later" Arizona icily told Callie before heading back to the living room where their friends were still chatting away.

* * *

**1 HOUR LATER**

**CALLIE**

Arizona had managed to empty out their apartment; it hadn't proven to be very difficult since it had become a little uncomfortable when Brooke decided the middle of the living room would be the best place to take an alcohol induced nap. The icy glares that Arizona had been shooting at Callie probably hadn't helped the situation either.

Callie said her goodbyes to Mark who had offered to take Brooke back to his place to sleep it off, he also wished her luck with the grumpy blonde currently banging around in their bedroom. After cleaning up the living room a bit and washing the dishes she decided that it was time to face her angry girlfriend. She was still buzzing slightly from all the alcohol she had had tonight but she knew that Arizona wasn't going to let her sleep it off before yelling at her so the Latina thought she might as well get it over with.

As Callie entered the bedroom cautiously she noticed that Arizona had just had a shower and was still in the bathroom. A naughty smile appeared on Callie's face as an idea to quash her girlfriends anger came to her. Slowly the brunette slid the bathroom door open to reveal a very naked Arizona Robbins.

The petite blonde was in the middle of her nightly routine of cleansing and moisturising. She hadn't bothered to dry herself off or cover herself up and there was nothing Callie loved more than a wet and naked Arizona.

"Hey gorgeous" Callie greeted her girlfriend. She didn't step any further into the bathroom; she was enjoying the view from where she was. Arizona completely ignored her and continued to moisturise her face.

"Baby you should've seen Brooke pull out the moves tonight. That baby sister of yours is craaaazy!" Callie couldn't help but laugh as she thought back to her few hours drinking and dancing with the younger Robbins.

Arizona didn't answer but Callie could've sworn she heard the blonde mutter something like "well if I was invited…"

"Look Ari, I'm sorry Brooke and I got so drunk. We didn't really mean to. It was just supposed to be a few drinks and well obviously it turned into a few more than a few drinks but it was an accident" Callie was rambling. She wasn't exactly sure why Arizona was so mad, she knew that getting her girlfriends little sister drunk and then stumbling in the door at midnight probably wasn't the best thing she could have done tonight but Arizona wasn't usually this uptight about stuff like that.

"Arizona? Did you hear me? I apologised" Callie spoke up again when she realised Arizona still hadn't answered her. In fact Arizona hadn't spoken to her all night. The blonde simply gave her a look that let her know she wasn't going to be answering her or accepting her apology anytime soon.

"Oh come on! Seriously Arizona, the silent treatment?" still there was nothing from her stone cold beauty. Arizona Robbins was one tough cookie to crack.

"Can you get out while I finish up in here please?" Arizona asked coolly.

"What?" Callie was beyond shocked at Arizona's request. Not only that though, she was hurt by the face that Arizona had asked her to leave. Callie loved to watch Arizona rub moisturiser all over her glorious body. The blonde's distinct muscles on display as she massaged the moisturiser into her creamy skin. it wasn't a sexual thing, well sometimes it was but mostly Callie just bathed in the domesticity of Arizona's intimate nightly shows. Usually Arizona would prance around a little and sometimes she even let Callie help her. Tonight however, the brunette was being denied something she never knew was important to her before. Not until this very moment.

Trying not to show the level of hurt she was feeling Callie began retreating from the bathroom.

"I didn't know you were home Ari. I thought you were on-call tonight. I really did" the brunette hoped that her girlfriend would sense the sincerity in her voice. If she did she didn't show it. She simply shut the bathroom door the second Callie had exited the bathroom.

Standing outside the bathroom, staring at the closed door Callie couldn't help but feel extremely hurt by Arizona's actions tonight. The Latina felt that her girlfriend was taking this whole thing a bit too far. Not knowing what else to do, she simply climbed into bed and waited for her girlfriend to finish up in the bathroom.

Arizona was taking an extra long time in there, no doubt with the desire to torture Callie a little more. It was working.

When the door finally opened to reveal Arizona in her Daffy Duck pyjamas Callie felt a grin begin to creep up on her face. The anger and hurt she felt over Arizona asking her to leave the bathroom had vanished the minute she saw the staggeringly beautiful blonde in her adorable night wear. The two French braids adorned in Arizona's silky hair only added to the adorableness.

Without a word Arizona began readying herself for bed, cleaning up her side of the room, placing her pager on the nightstand and grabbing a glass of water from the bathroom.

"Arizona?" Callie spoke softly to the blonde who was now sitting on the edge of the bed facing away from her. Arizona turned to face Callie, acknowledging that she had heard her but still not speaking.

"You look really pretty with your hair like that" Callie shot the PEDS surgeon her best smile and she could have sworn that she saw some of the ice surrounding her girlfriend thaw.

"Thank you" was all Arizona replied, her face remaining completely neutral as she climbed into bed, facing away from Callie.

Callie thought she'd try her luck and scooted her body a little closer the petite blonde. Much to Callie's relief Arizona didn't try to move away from her, she remained perfectly still.

"I missed you today. I know I saw you twice and we had lunch together but I still missed you. Seems weird I know, I mean we live together and it's not like I didn't see you at all but anyway… I just wanted you to know that I missed you today and that this, right now is the best part of my day" Callie had a tendency to ramble; she knew she did it and she also knew that Arizona never judged her for it.

"I missed you too Calliope" Arizona's reply was barely more than a whisper but Callie had heard it and those five simple words made her heart soar.

"And I'm sorry that I didn't call you to tell you where I was. I should have and I'm sorry" she waited, hoping that she would get a reply but after a few minutes she realised she probably wasn't going to get one so she rolled over and closed her eyes. The sound of Arizona's breathing was lulling her to sleep, the Tequila she had consumed tonight was probably also helping that process along.

It didn't take long for Arizona to subtly worm her way into Callie's arms. Even though Arizona was mad at her, Callie knew that the blonde wouldn't be able to sleep without the physical contact the two of them had become to accustom to. Wrapping her arms around her girlfriend's smaller body, sleep began to overtake her.

"Calliope?" Callie heard a small voice break through her sleepy haze.

"Mmmm" was the best reply she could come up with. She would have had to give up her comfy spot in the nook of Arizona's neck in order to form coherent words. Totally wasn't going to happen.

"I've been thinking… and I think we should have a baby" Arizona's voice was timid, almost like she was nervous about Callie's reaction. Callie however, couldn't seem to get her brain to work. she sat up almost instantly after hearing Arizona's announcement but she had yet to come up with the right words.

"Now?" Callie spat out, she was shocked and half convinced that she was dreaming.

"Not right now. But eventually. Like maybe in 3 years. After we get married and buy a house and, well you know… when we're ready for kids" Arizona mumbled out. Her little rant sounded almost like an inner monologue and Callie wasn't sure if she meant to say the last bits out loud.

Callie was barely able to contain her squeals of excitement at the prospect of not only kids with Arizona but marriage and a house. She wanted nothing more than a full life with the woman she loved, she had given up on the idea of having kids with Arizona because it just seemed like it wasn't in the cards for them but clearly she had been wrong.

"Don't forget Spain" Callie added to her girlfriends list.

"Huh?"

"We'll buy a house get married and go to Spain, Fiji, Russia, Antarctica wherever you want to go… then we'll have kids" Callie would have given Arizona the world if she could have, it certainly felt like Arizona was giving her the entire universe by agreeing to have a family with her.

"In that order?" Arizona turned over to face the brunette with a giant smirk on her face.

"In whatever order you want baby" Callie was more than willing to let Arizona call all the shots on this one, as long as the brunette got to experience all of those things on the list with Arizona by her side, she couldn't care less which order they did them in.

Arizona leaned in and gently pressed her lips against Callie's. The brunette was unable to stifle her moans of pleasure as Arizona's hot mouth melded around her own. It wasn't the steamy kiss that led to hot sex and it was the chaste 'we're in public' kind of kiss either, it was perfect and full of nothing but love.

"Okay, but I'm still mad at you" Arizona said as she pulled away from their languid kissing and turned away from Callie once more.

Callie couldn't help but laugh. Arizona Robbins was certainly a strange woman but she wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
